


The Funeral

by Anifan1



Series: The Swap [2]
Category: Animorphs (TV), Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Brotherly Love, Brothers, Death, Familial Love, Family, Fluff, Gen, Infestation, Peace Movement, Voluntary Controllers, Wakes & Funerals, Yeerks, hosts, yeerk peace movement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25094593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anifan1/pseuds/Anifan1
Summary: When Grandpa G dies, Tom enlists the help of the Animorphs to provide help for Terlin.
Relationships: Jake Berenson/Cassie (Animorphs)
Series: The Swap [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704949
Comments: 16
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

When you're a Controller whose Yeerk is a member of the Peace Movement, and your younger brother is the head of a resistance, and you're both teenagers, things are never really normal. Sure, we both have to act normal around our parents and at school, but we always have our eyes and ears open for information about the Yeerks. At least, now, Jake and I were both on the same side, and Jake could be open with me about how he was dealing with everything, and I could help him as much as I could. In addition to emotional support, Terlin and I would collect whatever information we could from Sharing meetings, and me from the voluntary area. Just in case there was a higher level voluntary host whose Yeerk was feeding at the same time as Terlin, and they were inclined to share information.

Yeah, highly unlikely. But still, no reason not to keep my ears and eyes wide open. Just in case.

While I didn't see Mr. Tidwell, and Terlin didn't see Illim, as much as when we were being recruited, they hardly disappeared from the Yeerk Pool. We usually "shared a feeding", as the phrase went, at least once every couple of weeks. We had to be careful, because everyone knew he was a teacher. And, since I couldn't bring my History book or notes with me to the Yeerk Pool, we couldn't pretend that he was meeting with me to tutor me.

Nor could he hold us after class every day without the risk of drawing attention.

Not that we didn't have ways around this. I was doing some "extra credit" work for him, or giving Jake sample tests to try before he took the main one. Mr. Tidwell was one of the few teachers who taught at least one class in every grade, and the fact that Jake and I both had him at the same time was more than a little unusual. Unless, of course, this had all been prearranged by him.

The point is, we managed to communicate. I was the contact person for the Animorphs, and he was kind of the contact person for the Peace Movement. There were other students in high school who were in the Peace Movement, but no one in my grade.

When you thought about it, the amount of effort we spent keeping in contact could have been the same amount that Jake or Cassie would have provided, for similar results. Then again, they had appearances to worry about, and at least Terlin and Illim were Yeerks and could spend time together in our bodies (or, so the empire thought) without raising any major red flags.

Midget and I were closer than ever. We both felt like we were making up for lost time, and I guessed that, really, we were. He told me everything, except details about his relationship with Cassie, and his time being controlled by Temrash.

Both of which I could understand.

If our parents thought it was odd, they were more happy about our renewed friendship than anything else. After all, we'd always been close, and going the better part of two years without much communication and no hanging out had to be a lot stranger to them than us suddenly spending most of our free time together.

Then, Grandpa G died.

Jake had always been closer with him than me, and he was our great grandfather, so he'd lived a long life. Still. It was a surprise, and not a good one.

Worse was the fact that we'd be away for four days.

Yeerks can't survive more than three days without the Kandrona, and if you reach the three day mark, you're practically at the point of no return. Some Yeerks who were being executed over a period of weeks would reach the fugue point and then be returned to the Yeerk Pool, so the "fun" could continue. Rinse and repeat, until they would beg for death even after they'd just fed in the Pool. Because, they knew that each time, the amount of time they'd be allowed in the pool would be shorter, until finally, it would be a matter of seconds, and then they'd outright die.

Some empire Yeerks, probably scientists, basically perfected the torture technique for those they deemed traitors.

For, oh, the twenty-thousandth time, I thanked God that Terlin was only in empire Yeerk on the surface before joining the Peace Movement. He'd called himself pragmatic in the early days, but really, he had always been a softie.

Anyway.

(These are the options we have at hand,) Terlin told me, once we'd escaped to my room, before Jake had come home to hear the news.

(Go on,) I urged him.

(You're not going to like one,) he cautioned.

(Infest and/or kill Dad?) I guessed.

(Which won't happen. But the empire will certainly view it as an option,) he reminded me, gently.

(Yeah, well. Not for us. What are the others?) I pressed.

(Somehow obtain a portable Kandrona, or convince Chapman's Yeerk to allow you to go free for the duration of the trip,) Terlin answered.

(Aren't portable Kandronas for really, really high up Yeerks? Like vissers?) I asked.

Marco had mentioned, during a meeting, that he'd seen his mom when Visser One was feeding in one. Her head was in some kind of restraint, and only the Yeerk could unlock it. Later, Terlin had told me that they were all made that way.

Of course, it was up to the Yeerk to determine whether it was actually necessary to lock their host in. A voluntary one like me wouldn't need it.

Anyway, if you were fortunate enough to be a visser with a voluntary host, I imagined that they wouldn't use the restraint. Not just because it could cause ill will, but those things had to give a host a major neck ache. Which would become the Yeerk's problem as soon as they slithered back into their host's head and took control.

Host comfort wasn't a priority, until it became a problem for the Yeerk controlling said host.

Terlin gave me a mental nod. (I think our best chance is freeing you for the duration of the trip. After all, you have a good record as a voluntary host. Your infestation might not have been standard, but you were voluntary as early as my first trip to the Yeerk Pool. They would hardly have to threaten you to "let" you return for infestation four days later.)

(And that was before we joined the Peace Movement,) I noted. (Obviously, I'd come back. The question is, would they even allow that?)

Terlin went quiet for a minute. (I'm not sure. They might decide that it would be easier to eliminate the problem entirely, meaning infesting or killing off your father. Which is not an option, even if they think it is.)

(Personally, I'd opt for the portable pool. No chance of me getting the wrong Yeerk later, or them storming my home if we arrive an hour late,) I told Terlin. (Obviously, you wouldn't use the head restraint on me.)

Terlin gave a mental shudder. (Certainly not.)

(Chapman and Illim are at least civil to each other, right? We could talk to Illim, and he could try to convince Chapman. I bet they could borrow a portable pool, and all that,) I offered.

Terlin nodded. (Yes. Even if they're only supposed to be for the higher ups, I'm sure that Chapman's Yeerk could get his hands on one.)

(Also, if they bring up making Dad not a problem, you could say that this would lose you a voluntary host,) I added, reflectively. (You know how much they value voluntaries.)

(The thought has crossed my mind,) was Terlin's rather dry response. (All right. We'll approach Illim, first, and have him contact Chapman. See where things go from there.)

Jake arrived, then, and I heard Dad explaining to him about Grandpa G. He was kind of quiet, from what I could hear from upstairs, and then I heard a knock on my door.

I opened the door, and Jake stood there, looking tense. "You heard?" he asked, without preamble.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey yourself, Midget."

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking abashed.

"I was mostly teasing." I pulled him into a hug. "Anyway, yeah, I heard."

Jake relaxed against me for a minute, then straightened up. "This is kind of a problem for Terlin."

I rolled my eyes at him again. "We were going to head to Tidwell's. See if he had any ideas."

Jake shook his head. "We need a group meeting, with Erek. He told us awhile back that he can produce Kandrona rays. If that's the case, we wouldn't need to involve Chapman, or Tidwell."

"Wouldn't they know that we're gonna be gone for at least four days?" I pressed.

Jake shrugged. "Why would he? Tom, Dad's just going to clear us for Monday and Tuesday. For all he knows, the funeral is local, or you convinced him not to leave until Sunday. As long as it looks like you've fed then, no one will be any the wiser."

I had to admit it, I was pretty impressed.

"That's pretty smart thinking, Midget. No wonder you're the leader. Here we were, about to go to Chapman about a portable Kandrona or leaving Terlin with him for that time," I praised, tousling his hair.

Jake laughed. "Yeah, this is way safer."

An hour later, everyone was assembled in Cassie's barn, including Erek the Chee. This was the first time I'd met him, knowing what he was, and while I'd seen his hologram as a regular teenage boy from our school and at Sharing meetings, I could now see that, unmasked, he looked a lot more like a robotic dog. Jake had given me the five minute version of the story on the way there. The Chee were created by a peaceful and advanced race called the Pemalites, but they had been destroyed by another alien species called the Howlers. Jake and his friends had actually fought the Howlers, and they were kind of like kids who didn't know any better. They were no longer on the run to destroy other alien races, but what was done was done, and the Pemalites were extinct. Erek and the other Chee were incapable of violence, which was a shame, because they could do some heavy duty harm to the empire. They fought in other ways, mainly by spreading intelligence to Jake and his friends. Erek passed as a Controller and was actually infested, but the Yeerk was basically trapped in a wire cage in his mind, and Erek was the one who probed the Yeerk's mind for any useful information.

(Remind me not to get on Erek's bad side,) Terlin half joked, once he'd heard that part.

(Yeah, tell me about it,) I winced.

Once everyone was caught up, I asked about the logistics of Terlin being able to feed.

"Erek, I know that you have a Yeerk in your head, but I'm not sure that setup would be comfortable for Terlin, even if we're only talking about four days," I stated, as diplomatically as I could. "Can you provide Kandrona rays for him without him being...attached to you?"

"Oh, very easily," Erek assured us. "My android body can become a Kandrona, so all that your Yeerk friend would need is a glass of water to reside in. While I can not remain there for the entire four days, you only need me for one or two feedings, and Terlin can remain in the water without me."

I nodded. "Cassie, where's the safest place to put the water? I know your dad still comes into the barn, and he might do a double take if he saw an oversized grey green slug on his rounds."

(You know, Tom, I seem to remember you asking me to remain in a glass of water in your bedroom for a near feeding cycle,) Terlin teased me.

(I was also getting on your nerves, with my constant thinking about joining the Peace Movement,) I shot back, with a mental grin. (You just had to stick with being in your annoying host during that time.)

He chuckled. (While I'm relieved that I won't be confined to a wire cage during this time, it will be dull in a glass of water,) he sighed. (Perhaps, I will keep a runny tally of how many times I can swim around the water before you return.)

I gave him a mental shrug. (I know. That part stinks. If you didn't need to feed so often, you could come with me. I'm sorry, Terlin.)

(It's all right, Tom. I'll survive a few days of boredom,) he promised me.

Cassie, I noticed, hadn't said anything in response.

"Cassie?" I repeated. "Where should we put Terlin?"

Cassie looked around the room, her gaze stopping at Jake for a few seconds. Then, she looked at us.

"He could stay in me, while you're gone," she suggested, her voice soft.

Terlin sort of furrowed my brow. "Wait. You're offering to be my host for the duration of Tom's absence?" he asked, clearly amazed.

"Well, I know I'm not Tom, but it's better than having nothing to do than swim around in a glass of water, right?" she replied, almost teasingly.

"It's a very generous offer," Terlin protested. "I'd be in your head, Cassie..."

"I know." She studied us. "I've had Aftran in my head, twice. The longest was two days, before she became a nothlit. I know what it's like, to have a Yeerk in my head." She turned to Jake. "A decent one, anyway."

Jake had been infested for three days, with a very not decent Yeerk. He hadn't given me the play by play, but I knew that the Yeerk had tortured him.

I stood a little closer to Jake, then spoke up. "It's Tom. You don't have to, Cassie. I mean, I know you're the only one who would even consider it, and it's really generous of you even to make the suggestion. Terlin's great and all, but he's still a Yeerk. I mean, he can still read your thoughts, even though he would stay out of your memories and not control your body. I'm used to it, but it's really invasive, at first."

"I know," Cassie reminded me. "I also saw all of your memories with Terlin, Tom. He's been a friend to you. I'd be happy to let him in my head while you're gone, if he...doesn't take control much, and tries not to look at my memories."

She seemed to add the last part as an afterthought.

"It's Terlin," my Yeerk piped up. He put a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "I would treat your mind with the same respect that I give Tom, Cassie. You can be assured of that. We just want you to know that you shouldn't feel obligated to let me in your head. I promise, I won't die of boredom in four days."

"That usually takes five days?" Jake quipped, with a smile.

We turned to my brother. "Six and a half, to be precise."

Jake outright grinned, first at me, and then at Cassie, shrugging a little. "I mean, there's no real security risk with this. So, if Cassie doesn't mind, I'm not going to try to convince her otherwise."

"That being said," Terlin put in, "Cassie, if you change your mind, or need a break halfway through, I won't be offended. As I said, it's very kind of you to make the offer."

Cassie smiled, a little sheepishly. "Well, you know, Terlin taking up residence head takes care of the problem of hiding him from my parents."

(We might know something about that,) I laughed.

(Just a little,) Terlin agreed, with a chuckle.

Marco rolled his eyes at the group. "I'm not going to say this is insane, but it's weird. Jake, your girlfriend is taking temporary custody of your brother's Yeerk while you guys go to a funeral. Let's not forget that she also infested your brother a couple weeks ago to make sure this Yeerk wasn't torturing him. You're taking family and dating to a whole new level."

Rachel, very appropriately, gave him a punch on the shoulder. "Marco. Shut. Up."

Marco cradled his shoulder in his arm, clearly exaggerating his pain. Then again, maybe not. "Jake, Xena punched me, again!" he whined.

Jake rolled his eyes. "You know you totally deserved it that time, dude."

Neither Terlin nor I could disagree, there.

With his life no longer in the balance-the potential cause no longer death by Kandrona starvation nor death by boredom-things broke up after that. Side chatter took the place of the meeting, and by the time we left, Cassie, Terlin, Erek, and I had agreed on a meeting time for me to drop Terlin off.

"I will also play Tom on Sunday night at the Yeerk Pool," Erek offered. "My Yeerk schedule is such that plans to 'feed' the previous evening, so there will be no conflict. Tom, do you want a second appearance on Tuesday night?"

"That would be great. We leave on Saturday morning, so Terlin can feed the Friday before. If you could show up at Cassie's on Sunday before you feed, and right after school on Tuesday, that should take care of everything," I agreed.

"Certainly," Erek nodded his Chee head.

We turned to Cassie. "And, I'll see you on Friday evening, after Terlin feeds. I'll call before stopping by your barn, okay? And look, if you change your mind..."

Cassie nodded. "I won't, but thanks. See you in a couple of days."

(Be extra nice to her, okay?) I teased Terlin. (And if you see any mushy thoughts with her and Jake, ignore them.)

(I know that!) Terlin retorted, mock offended. (I certainly wouldn't be cruel enough to tease her about them.)

(You know, I fully support Rachel for punching Marco for what he said, but he's not totally far off. Cassie infesting me to make sure you were legit was one thing, and her agreeing to host you was sweet. However, since she and Jake are sort of dating, there's a point where it can get a little...weird,) I admitted.

(Your brother and his friends are turning into animals to fight off an alien invasion,) Terlin mused. (Weird has passed a long time ago.)

(You've got a point, there,) I conceded.

We spent the next couple of days getting ready for the trip and finishing up as much homework as we could manage before leaving. Chapman called us into his office when he heard that we'd be gone for two days, but Terlin assured him that although he would not be able to attend any Sharing events that weekend, feeding would not be a problem.

We did tell Mr. Tidwell the full story, after class on Friday. To be honest, he seemed less surprised about robots who could produce Kandrona rays than we would have thought. Then again, that might have been one of the things that Aftran had told him about before her capture.

"Stay safe, both of you," he told us, almost parentally, just before we left his classroom.

"Always," Terlin promised.

We headed straight to the Yeerk Pool after school. As we waited in line, trying to ignore the cries from all around us, I spoke to my Yeerk.

(You know, I'm kinda going to miss you, being gone for four days,) I admitted.

(I'll miss you, too, Tom,) he murmured, as he wrapped me in a mental hug.

(Am I too dependent on you?) I half teased, half legitimately wondered.

(I don't think so,) he answered, truthfully. (We've been sharing your brain for nearly two years, with only a couple of hours of a break. Compared to that, four days will feel incredibly long. It's normal to feel like there's an absence without there being a dependency.)

(I'm glad you'll have Cassie to hang out with. It was good of her to volunteer, and save you from dying from boredom,) I told him.

(Yes. It's extremely kind of her,) Terlin agreed.

It was our turn, now, so we said a quick goodbye, and then I headed to the voluntary area to watch TV until he came back.

Of course, this time, the reunion would only be for a couple of hours, since we'd be heading to her house right after dinner.

When it was time to leave, Jake offered to go with us.

"I thought you could use some company on the way back," he offered, almost hesitantly.

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Honestly, Midget, that would be great. Thanks."

I meant it, too. I hadn't really thought about what it would be like, driving back by myself. The idea sounded almost depressing, but Jake being there would take the weight off.

On the way, Jake suggested that we stay with Cassie while Terlin infested her, for moral support.

"Good idea. He'll have to take full control, since it's his first time infesting her. I know that Cassie's been through that with Aftran, but it's still a freaky process," I noted. "Probably worse than morphing."

Jake nodded. "I was unconscious when the Yeerk took over, or mostly, but I'm sure it's not exactly fun."

"From what I understand, the only similarities are that it's totally random. When you morph and when you get infested, I mean. It's never the same way twice?" I asked.

"Pretty much. Cassie can control the morphing process better than any of us can, but I don't think she can control the infestation process," Jake explained.

(I can't, either,) Terlin pointed out.

I repeated this for Jake's benefit.

"That's kind of weird, isn't it?" he asked us. "The Yeerks evolved as parasites, but they can't control how they take over their host's body?"

I shrugged. "It's not like it was a matter of life or death, on their home planet. Anyway, the whole process doesn't take that long, so..."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

As there wasn't a whole lot else to say after that, we made the rest of the trip in silence.

When we arrived at Cassie's, there weren't any water glasses in the immediate vicinity, so I took that to mean that she hadn't changed her mind about hosting Terlin. She greeted all of us with a smile, and then closed the door behind us.

"Now, before you ask, yes, I still want to do this," she told us, after we'd all said hello.

I nodded my head. "Fair enough. We thought we'd wait with you, if you wanted. Emotional support and all of that."

Another smile, and I could see there was relief in it. "That would be great, Tom."

(Okay, guess this is it for a few days. Be good, okay?) I teased my Yeerk.

He rolled his eyes, wrapping me in a mental hug. (I will. See you soon, Tom.)

Once again, since he hadn't been in control, the whole disengaging from my head process didn't take very long. I recalled when he'd first done this in front of Jake, a sort of "laying down your weapons" in a time of war. The ten or so seconds had felt a lot longer, then, and I'd been afraid that Jake would try to kill Terlin before he was fully out of my head.

There was no danger of that, this time. I simply handed Terlin over to Cassie, and she placed him to her ear.

Jake took her hand in his, and I was on the verge of commenting to Terlin how cute that was-when I remembered that he was out of my head. I felt a brief sense of disorientation, at least mentally, but it didn't exactly hurt.

It's just for a few days, I reminded myself.

Cassie stiffened as she must be staring to lose control, and Jake squeezed her hand and wrapped an arm around her back.

I felt a spark of pride at how well my kid brother was growing up.

Cassie squeezed her eyes shut for a minute, then opened them again. She looked fearful, but then forced herself to relax.

"It's okay," I reassured her, taking her other hand. "I know it's really freaky and scary, but he'll let go once he's connected."

"Yeah, I know," she whispered, forcing a smile.

About a minute later, Terlin spoke up. "It's Terlin. I'm fully connected to Cassie. Now, I'll return control to her."

Cassie's face relaxed, and she took a couple of deep breaths. "Okay, it's me again. I'd forgotten how scary that was."

I gave her a gentle smile, remembering my own first infestation all too well. "The good news is, you got through the worst of it. When he leaves your head to feed and comes back, or if you kick him out for a few hours because you need a mental break, he can enter your head again without taking control."

Cassie nodded. "Yeah. That's a relief." She paused. "You know, Tom, his voice isn't what I expected."

"Oh yeah? What were you expecting?" I wondered, with a grin.

She shrugged, slightly. "Sort of like a teacher, I guess? He sounds like a regular guy, maybe a few years older than us."

"Hmm. He's always sounded like an adult to me, but not in a bad way," I admitted. "Well, maybe more like an older cousin or something. I wonder if he sounds different to different people?" I asked.

Another shrug from Cassie. "We don't know."

"Well, as long as you're still okay with this," Jake cautioned, his arm still around her back. "You can back out, or take a break whenever you want."

"I'm fine," Cassie reassured us, and I saw her squeeze Jake's hand, again. "See you Tuesday evening?"

"Yeah, but we'll call first," I promised. "It's an eight hour drive, and you never know how traffic is gonna be."

Jake and Cassie hugged, briefly, and then we headed out.

I wrapped an arm around Jake's shoulder. "You picked a great girlfriend there, Midget."

He rolled his eyes at me. "We're not really dating."

"You could have fooled me," I laughed. "It's not that hard, is it, Jake? To ask her out?"

"Tom," Jake half groaned, half pleaded.

I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Mum's the word."


	2. Chapter 2

We walked to Dad's car, then got inside. Before I started driving away, Jake spoke again.

"Tom?" he asked, tentatively.

I turned and looked at him. "Yeah, Midget?"

"Are you-do you think you'll miss him?" Jake asked, watching me.

I was quiet for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to tell Jake. Or rather, how to say what was the truth.

"It's definitely going to be weird, Terlin not being there," I began, tentatively. "I don't usually miss him when he feeds-it's a nice mental break, because we're together all the time, otherwise. You don't have that with anyone else. I mean, even when I shower or go to the bathroom, he's there. Without that break, it would get very claustrophobic, for both of us. You know?" I paused, waiting for Jake to respond in some way. At his nod, I continued. "But this...I mean, four days doesn't seem like that long, and it might go by quickly, but it feels kind of long, right now. I-I don't think I'm dependent on him or anything. Still, it's gonna be weird, at least, at first." I shrugged to myself. "Not that there's much I can do about it."

Jake took my hand. "I'm here, Tom. If you need anything."

"Hey," I teased, with a laugh. "That's my job, Midget."

He grinned. "Yeah. I know."

"Seriously, though," I amended, "I appreciate the offer."

"We'll probably have some free time, during the weekend," Jake realized. "Maybe, we can hang out."

"Definitely. I don't think there's a basketball hoop, but the lake's always fun. It might be warm enough to go swimming," I mused. "We should bring our swim suits, just in case."

"I already packed mine," Jake grinned. "It'll still be fun, right? Just us? Aside from the whole funeral part."

"You were closer with him than I was," I remembered. "He thought you had an old soul, like he did."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, he told me that."

Another silence. I left the car off. Something that Jake had said-or hinted at, made me want to clarify something.

"Hey, Jake?" I asked, hoping I sounded casual.

"Yeah?" He glanced at me, again.

"What you said, about it being just us...you know, you can have that when Terlin comes back, too. If you want to talk or anything, just let me know, and he'll leave my head for awhile," I promised.

Jake raised his eyebrows. "Won't he be kind of offended?"

I shook my head. "If anything, we were kind of wondering why it hadn't come up before. I wasn't sure if I should be the one to make the first move, and looking back, I guess I should have." I put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jake."

He shrugged, but the look on his face betrayed his relief. "I'd like that. Just us hanging out, or talking. I know, he'll see everything later..."

"Not if I ask him not to. If it's private or embarrassing or just something that you want to keep between us, I can tell Terlin, and he'll respect that. And, I'll try not to think about it..." I trailed off.

He nodded, slowly, not quite looking at me. "I know he's on our side. Sometimes, it's weird to-to talk to you about stuff, because I know he's there."

"I get that. Does it help to know that he cares about you, too? You're my brother, after all, and he knows that I'd do anything for you. Since he and I are friends, some of that crosses over to you," I tried to explain.

"Sort of." Jake smiled at me. "He probably also thought of me as Mr. Crankypants for most of the time he was in your head."

"Of the two of us, he was the more understanding," I admitted. "Terlin knew it hurt me, because it seemed like you suddenly hated me. When we learned the truth, it was like a huge giant light bulb went on. Like the ones from comic strips? It all made sense."

"I'm really sorry, Tom," he repeated, staring at his shoes.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," I began, gently, "if the shoe was on the other foot, you'd be giving me a similar nickname. The important thing is, now we're on the same side. And if you ever want to spend time with just me, let me know. Okay?"

Jake finally looked up at me, nodding. "Okay," he promised.

With that, we headed home.

It was weird that night, falling asleep without Terlin being there. In some ways, the silence in my head felt louder than his voice would have been. Mostly, though, I hoped that he and Cassie were doing okay. I'd expected it to be weird for her, but it was probably just as awkward for Terlin. Having been his host for just over twenty months, we knew each other pretty well. Of course, Terlin would always know me better than I would know him, but we'd adapted to each other during this time. We were used to each other's quirks.

He knew, for example, that I would toss and turn at least five times before falling asleep, but always end up on my left side. That, even though I wasn't into yoga, if I was having trouble with sleeping, he was welcome to take gentle control and regulate my breathing. Or, when I wanted to relive a decent memory before sleeping, or a Yeerk song, or just a plain old mental hug.

Cassie had little experience with any of that, and what had taken weeks, if not months, for us to figure out wasn't going to happen in a span of four days. It would be awkward for them, and it would stay awkward.

I heard Jake sigh in his sleep, then curl up against my side. I smiled to myself, wrapping the arm that was around his back so it was even more secure. We slept together most nights, now, splitting between his room and mine. I didn't think our parents had noticed anything, because they hadn't said anything about it. I knew that Jake felt safer falling asleep next to me, and I could comfort him when he woke up from a nightmare. It helped me, too, being able to see that my kid brother was safe. That I could do something, however small, to protect him.

I thought about the days ahead. We'd be leaving early the next morning, with the drive expected to take eight hours, so no sleeping in for either of us. Dad had told us that we'd be leaving the house no later than 8:00, so we should be downstairs for breakfast by 7:30.

I'd set my alarm for 7:00, giving each of us fifteen minutes for showers and getting ready. We'd finished packing earlier that evening, and our bags were in the trunk of Dad's car.

Earlier that night, Jake had finished repositioning himself for the third time, now using my shoulder as a pillow. I wrapped my arms around him again, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"Comfortable, now?" I teased him.

I was sure he was rolling his eyes at me. "Tom, you move at least twice as much as I do."

"I'm taller," I retorted, by way of explanation.

Not by much, and Jake was slowly closing the gap between us. Not that I would admit to this.

"So?" Jake asked, as he rested his head against my shoulder, smoothing down the material of my oversized sleeping shirt with one hand.

"Longer legs. Harder to get comfortable," I explained, patiently. "Being a midget, you wouldn't understand."

Jake didn't bother to raise the familiar objection that I was-at most-a head taller than he was.

"You can also reach the highest shelf without any problems," he yawned.

"Yeah, that's true," I agreed.

He yawned again, snuggling his head closer against my shirt. "Night, Tom."

"Sweet dreams, Jake," I answered, with a yawn of my own, wrapping my arms around him in a bear hug.

We woke up early and ate breakfast without much talk, then headed into the car. Dad was a faster driver without Mom, so even with a stop at McDonalds (sans Yeerk Pool entrance, I was pretty sure) to stretch out and use the restroom, we made pretty good timing. I slept most of the way, and when I woke up, I saw that Jake was sleeping, too. Mostly, because it was something to do. Neither of us were very good at reading in the car, and anyway, our school books were in the trunk of the car, with our clothes. When I heard Dad announce that we were about five minutes away from the cabin, I gave Jake a little nudge.

He opened his eyes, his face still sleepy. "We there yet?" he mumbled.

"Almost." I squeezed his hand.

Jake nodded, stretched as best as he could, and then slumped back in his seat.

Our family surrounded us when we left the car, and an aunt who I hadn't seen in over a year took our bags. "I'll put these in the attic. That's where you boys will be staying," she explained, in that kind but no-nonsense manner people from an older generation tended to use. "You must be starving!"

More hugs, cries of how much we've grown, and directions to take a plate of food from the kitchen and then join then on the front porch.

Having slept for most of the trip, my legs were still waking up, but they adjusted by the time Jake and I saw the huge assortment of food.

"No one's going to go hungry this weekend," I laughed, taking a plate and piling up.

"That's how it usually is when a family member dies," Dad explained. "The immediate family will be in mourning, and handling all of the visitors. So, people bring food to take some of the edge off."

"How's Mom doing?" Jake asked, piling food onto his own plate.

Dad sort of shrugged. "She's glad that you're here, now. Also, from what the doctors say, Grandpa G probably didn't feel much pain. He lived a long life, and there are certainly worse ways to go."

Jake and I could testify to this personally, but doing so would mean dodging some awkward questions.

We sat outside together, with me next to Jake, and listened to stories about Grandpa G's life. Finally, once our plates were empty from second helpings, plus dessert, and we were practically falling asleep, the same aunt suggested that everyone turn in for the night.

"I'll show you kids where the attic is," Mom promised, standing up.

The room wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't huge. It did have air conditioning, which wasn't always a given in older houses. The sleeping accommodations consisted of a set of single sized bunk beds.

I glanced at the bottom bunk rather dubiously, then lay down on it, as close to the wall as I could manage. There was still some space left over.

Jake, evidently guessing what I was doing, joined me next to him. Laying flat, there was no space between us, and Jake guessed that there was maybe three inches between him and the edge of the bed.

"You're on your back, though, and you never sleep like that," I pointed out. Turning on my side, using the wall as a type of cushion, I added, "Try...you know. On your side."

Jake nodded, then shifted his position. "Probably seven inches of space, now," he determined.

"It's up to you. I'm okay like this, but do you want more space to stretch out?" I asked.

Jake turned over on his other side, so he was facing me. "It's not like there's a ton of space on a single bed to begin with," he pointed out. "Let's try this for tonight.

"See if we can manage without falling off?" I kidded, tousling his hair.

"Yeah," Jake agreed, sitting up.

That sounded reasonable enough. We changed into pajamas, each looking in the opposite direction, and then headed down to the second floor to brush our teeth.

"You okay?" Jake whispered, once I'd tucked us in. His face was turned away from me, but his frame was curled even more tightly against me than usual.

"It's definitely weird," I admitted. "I keep expecting to hear him, especially now. I'll be okay for the next few days, though. I just hope that he and Cassie aren't driving each other crazy."

Jake laughed. "If anything, she'll be telling him it's okay to take control sometimes. Not that full kind...what's the other? When you can still move, and stuff?"

"Gentle control," I mumbled through a yawn. "Yeah. Terlin will be a total gentleman Yeerk, and probably avoid even doing that."

Jake snickered. "Now, I'm picturing him in a bow tie."

I snorted. "Black, right?"

"With white polka dots," Jake remembered. "Like the one Mom got Dad for Christmas five years ago."

"Oh, I remember that," I laughed. "He loves that hideous thing."

"Actually," Jake mused, adjusting his head so it was right against my shoulder, "considering how much Yeerks like color, maybe yours would be all tie dyed, instead."

"Oh, sure. With glitter," I added, with a snort. "Can't forget about that."

I felt Jake start to shake with laughter. "Oh, man," he groaned. "I'm never gonna get that image out of my head."

"Me neither," I admitted. Yawning, I wrapped my arms around Jake more tightly. "Gonna try to get some sleep?"

I felt him nod against me. "Yeah. Night, Tom."

"Night, Midget. Sweet dreams," I answered, yawning.

"You too, Tom."

The way they did things down here, the wake and the funeral would take place on separate days. Had they been on the same day, I probably still would have needed Erek's help with Terlin. It would have been way too close, otherwise. So, really, it wouldn't have changed anything.

Jake and I rose fairly early, given that it was a Sunday, but since neither of us were sure what to wear that day, we showed up for breakfast in pajamas. Mom and Dad were also in their sleeping attire, although Mom's was covered by a large bathrobe. Our grandparents were there, having spent the night, and they were dressed in regular clothes.

After the usual good morning hugs and loading us up with enough food to feed ten people (I briefly wondered if Mom and Dad noticed that Jake could stand to gain some weight, but our portion sizes were pretty comparable), we sat down to eat and discuss the events for the next two days.

"The wake's not until 1:00, this afternoon, and it will be held at the house," Mom told us, reading from a list. "People will come and go on their own, but the notice in Grandpa G's obituary says it will be over by 5. Just in case there are any last minute friends or relatives, we'll leave the casket open until 5:30."

"We don't expect you kids to stay the whole time," Dad added, glancing at Mom. "Just an hour or so. This is a chance for you to see him, to say goodbye, as well. There will be some socializing, of course. You'll hear how much you've grown and all, but you might hear stories about Grandpa G."

"You might hear the same ones more than once," Grandma added, smiling gently at us.

I understood, and by Jake's nod, so did he. It wasn't entirely unlike family reunions, really. Minus the whole literal dead body in the room.

I half expected to Terlin to make a comment about how that was morbid, before I realized he wasn't there.

"What about this evening?" Jake asked, changing the subject.

Dad grinned. "You're off duty. Rest up, finish your homework, go swimming in the lake, if the water isn't too cold. We'll eat outside again, if it stays this nice."

"It should," Mom confirmed. "According to the forecast."

"Which is wrong more than half the time," Grandpa half laughed, half complained.

Mom looked down at her list. "Tomorrow's the funeral, and there will be a gathering afterwards. You might see people from the wake there. Some will go to one or the other, and others will attend both. The funeral will be held at the church Grandpa G attended, and the reception at the house."

"Most likely, people will be here until at least 3, maybe 4. Just stay for an hour or so, like today," Dad told us.

Mom nodded. "We know that you boys have homework, and tests to study for. It's important that you're here, but the whole weekend shouldn't be just about mourning and small talk."

Saying "thank you" to this would have probably felt ungrateful, so Jake and I just nodded our heads in acknowledgment. We all went back to our food, while the adults discussed the logistics of setting up the room holding the casket, and who would be driving who to the funeral the following day.

After we were finished, Jake asked what we should wear to both, and Mom consulted her list again.

"Nice but casual for today. Suit and tie for tomorrow," she determined.

"In order words," Dad added, "dress shirt and nice pants for today. Add on a jacket and tie for tomorrow."

"Yes, and please try to keep both clean and with as few wrinkles as you can manage," Mom requested. "You each only have one nice suit, and the dry cleaner isn't open on Sundays."

More nods on our end.

"Should we be ready by around 12:30?" I asked.

"That's fine." Mom smiled at us. "You can grab something to eat beforehand. There's plenty of food in the fridge, and there will be refreshments at the wake."

"Okay, got it," I agreed, rising from the table, empty plate in hand. "I'll be upstairs, working on homework. Want this in the sink?"

Mom nodded.

"Yeah. Same here," Jake added, following me with his plate.

It felt kind of sloppy to stay in our PJs until noon, so after we took turns showering, we changed into regular clothes until we'd need to change into the less formal versions of our suits.

I glanced at the clock next to the desk. It read 8:46.

"How much homework do you have this weekend?" I asked Jake.

"Loads," he sighed. "My teachers said I could have until Thursday, but there will be more next week."

"Yeah, same here." I rolled my eyes. "And without the extra help, it's going to take longer than usual."

Jake sort of laughed. "Sorry about that."

I gave him a nudge in the ribs. "Hey, if you had a nice tutor living in your brain for almost two years..." I stopped upon seeing his reaction. "Sorry. You're right."

Jake shook his head, wrapped an arm around me, tentatively. "I get it, Tom. He's one of the good ones. I just-I don't think I could ever let one in my head again. No matter how nice they were."

Of course, I wrapped him in a bear hug. "I get it, Midget. That's what we're fighting for."

He squeezed back, and after about five minutes or so, we let go.

"Anyway, the desk is only big enough for one person, so how about you use that for an hour or so, and I'll use the top bunk? We can take a break, and then switch it up. Sound okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Jake agreed.

"If you need any help-" I jerked my head in the direction of the bunk beds, "I'm right here. Especially with math."

Another grin, and we got started.

Pencil in hand for making notes and underlining, I grabbed a couple of books and settled onto the bed. I leaned against the wall for the support, and to resist the urge to lay down and take a nap.

Even though Jake called me over a couple of times for help on two trick math problems, we mostly worked in silence. I was surprised to find that my pace of working wasn't considerably slower without Terlin than it was with him. Sure, it was slower, but I retained more than I expected without him being there. For the millionth time, I thought that having Yeerk tutors after the war would be really helpful, especially if the effects of them being in your head-in a helpful sense-were long term. Not that this would be the only use for them. While I was far from traumatized, I knew that most involuntary humans (and maybe, even, a couple of voluntaries) would have trouble just being set free. After all, we had therapists and psychiatrists for traumatic experiences caused by other humans. The impact of having a sadistic, or plain uncaring, Yeerk in your head over weeks, months, or even years would have serious repercussions. You didn't tell a victim of rape or trauma to "get over it", so you sure wouldn't say this to a victim of...well, Yeerk abuse.

Moreover, it could have been me. Every time I went to the Yeerk Pool, now, I realized this. Most people were assigned to one of two types of Yeerks when they were ready for full membership at The Sharing. There were the gentler ones, the ones who had mostly or all positive experiences with their hosts. Well, the human ones, anyway. It wasn't so much that they were sympathizers, or, not that anyone would admit it. But, most Yeerks knew better than to a torment a host who either wanted you there, or could be persuaded to accept that you were their best option. I, personally, suspected that voluntary kids got really gentle Yeerks, because even if a voluntary kid wasn't all that useful right away, they had a lot more years of service to the Yeerk empire than an adult. Besides, if you taught a kid early on that infestation was good for Yeerks and humans, they'd be appropriately indoctrinated by the time they were adults.

Then, there were the harsher Yeerks. Like Temrash 114. The ones whose aggressive, worshipful attitude toward the Yeerk empire and the vissers made it so that any act of host resistance needed to be addressed by breaking them. And, if they took things too far, well, the host body was involuntary, so what did it really matter if it was broken?

Terlin had been one of the gentler ones. He'd gotten to my ear before another Yeerk. Was it fate? A part of a higher plan? I didn't know, but I was certainly grateful for this outcome.

"Tom?"

I looked up to see that Jake had climbed partway up the bunk bed, and was standing about level at my head.

I grinned, a little sheepishly. "Let me guess. You've been calling my name three times."

He laughed, finishing the climb and sitting down on the bed, Biology textbook in hand. "Just two."

I made to get off the bed, but Jake put his right arm on mine, as though to prevent me. At my confused look, he spoke up.

"Maybe, we can take a homework break?" Jake asked, a little tentatively.

I put my books back on the bed. "I'm up for that." Turning to him, I added, "Want to talk? Take a walk outside?"

"We can talk here, if you want," Jake answered.

I rested my head on his shoulder-the opposite of how things usually went.

"Hey!" Jake laughed, giving me a playful swat.

"Hey yourself! It's your turn to be a pillow, Midget," I teased, but I lifted my head from his shoulder. "Happy?"

He rolled his eyes at me, but didn't say anything else.

"Jake? Anything on your mind?" I asked, gently.

Jake took a deep breath. "I guess...I have a lot of questions about...you know. Him."

I nodded my head, trying to understand. I guess, I'd thought we'd gotten everything out in the open, but apparently not. Well, anything Jake wanted to know, I'd tell him.

"Sure," I answered, easily, squeezing his shoulder. "Where do you want to start?"


	3. Chapter 3

We had talked about Terlin before.

Well, kinda. I remembered that first conversation consisted of me reassuring Jake that he was on our side, and he'd never hurt me. While I could tell that this must have been a huge load of my kid brother's shoulders, it was still something foreign to him.

Sure, Jake had known about the Peace Movement in an abstract sense, and he must have come to trust Aftran enough to agree to give her the morphing power. That must have been a big step for him, especially having been infested by a real jerk, for three days. It was one thing to know that there were others out there, trying to fight for your side, and another to realize that the Yeerk you'd spent almost two years hating, the one who lived inside your older brother, was one of them.

Now, Jake trusted Terlin. Enough, anything.

I guess. I mean, Jake trusted me, and I trusted Terlin, and there was a more than implicit understanding that Terlin was our ally.

Still. The two of them weren't exactly friends, though. Jake didn't hate him, it was just...well, Jake probably hadn't ever spoken to Terlin directly. Not intentionally, anyway. He was probably still scared that doing so would mean that I would be helpless in my mind. No matter that I'd told him this wasn't the case.

Really, when I got him back, they should talk.

It would help if they got to know each other.

Through me.

I wasn't an idiot-I knew that there was exactly zero chance that Jake would let Terlin in his head.

Nor did I want him to. It would be way too stressful.

I studied Jake, who had this expression on his face that wasn't exactly fear, but more like resolution. Foreboding, even.

"Well, what's it like?" Jake began, almost cautiously.

"When he's in my head?" I clarified.

He nodded, wordlessly.

Privately, I thought that he couldn't have started with a more vague question, but I certainly wasn't going to chide him for this. Anyway, at this point in the talk, it was likely difficult for Jake to pin point any one thing in particular.

Yeah. Better to start out with something vague and narrow it down from there.

It reminded me, a little, of this English teacher I'd had the previous year. All of our tests were open book, and were basically one in class essay. She gave us at least ten question sets to choose from, a week before the test, but explained that she didn't want an answer to the exact question. Rather, we should take a part of the question and get really specific about some part of it. It was super confusing in the beginning, but once you got the hang of it, it was almost fun.

Well, school fun, anyway.

I reached out to wrap an arm around Jake's shoulder, almost tentatively, and he immediately curled in next to me. His whole body seemed to get smaller, and his legs curled into an awkward position that would have to hurt when he stretched them out again. Still, he looked comfortable enough now.

Yeah, he definitely resembled a cat at this moment.

I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and he let out a small sigh.

"Well, I'm always aware that he's there, even though I can't read Terlin's thoughts," I began, and smoothed a piece of hair out of the way. "I can't feel him physically. It's not like there's something lodged in my brain. It's more that...I can usually feel his emotions. He reacts to stuff in a lot of the same ways that I do, since he's been in my head for so long, I know how to interpret them."

"What kinds of emotions?" Jake asked, looking up at me.

"Anger, boredom, relief, happiness." I gave Jake's shoulder another quick squeeze. "Definitely love and concern and affection for you."

"Really?" Jake asked, almost startled. "I didn't think Yeerks did that."

"Why not?" I wondered, surprised.

Jake's face went dark, and when he spoke again, his voice was choked. "They're parasites, Tom. Most of them steal the bodies of other sentient creatures, hold them as their slaves."

Oh.

I nodded, a little, then put my other arm around Jake, pulling him into a hug. "Yeah, I know that some of them, maybe even most of them, can be total jerks. But, Jake, their empire trains them to do this. You know how those kinds of governments work. Like the Nazis. When you're indoctrinated from birth to see anyone except people who look like you as lesser-it takes awhile for that to break."

"Yeah, but...we still have to fight them," Jake murmured, his voice a little shaky.

"I know. No argument there." I paused, then let go of my second arm. Jake remained in his leaning into me position, and I stroked his hair for a minute.

Neither of us spoke, just took a minute to...whatever.

Jake's breathing became even more even, so I spoke up again.

"Jake?"

Jake looked up at me. "Yeah, Tom?"

"I know that they can be awful, but...why do you think they wouldn't feel any love for each other?" I wondered.

Jake sort of shrugged against my side. "Well, I mean, Temrash didn't. When he went through the fugue, I didn't see any memories of that. Maybe some affection, but nothing else," Jake explained. "I figured that Yeerks didn't do love, the way we do."

It was on the tip of my tongue to say that Temrash was just one Yeerk, but I managed not to.

It would feel too much like a reprimand, and, besides, Temrash was probably far more representative of the empire Yeerks jockeying for high level hosts than ones like Terlin.

Pre-Peace Movement Terlin, that is.

"Okay, yeah. I guess a lot of empire Yeerks would fall short that way," I conceded. "Probably makes it easier to hurt others. Including their hosts. Still, not all of them. Like, I know that Terlin wants what's best for me, and isn't that sort of what love is? Not just the warm feelings, but trying to do stuff for the people you care about, even when you don't want to?"

Jake nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess." After a moment, he added, "You're lucky you ended up with him."

I laughed. "Yeah, believe me, Midget. I know it."

"I mean," Jake added, quickly, "not that you deserve a bad one, or..."

I laughed, gave him a little nudge in the ribs. "I know what you mean, Midget! Trust me, especially now, I'm so grateful that he got to my head before one of the other creeps did." I shook my head. "Can't imagine three hours with a Yeerk like Temrash, let alone three days."

"It wasn't fun," Jake nodded, then looked away.

I suspected that he was putting it mildly, and wasn't ready to talk about it. So, I just gave him another squeeze.

"I can imagine, Midget."

He nodded again. "I don't...I can't talk about it, yet."

"Whenever you're ready, I'm here. If you ever want to. I'm not gonna pressure you, Midget. Just know, I'm here if you want to," I assured him.

"Thanks," he answered, looking up at me and swallowing hard.

I figured Jake would want to ask me more about Terlin, but he was quiet for several moments. So, I broke the silence.

"Any other questions?" I nudged.

Jake hesitated. "Well..."

I nodded reassuringly, and gave him another squeeze.

Jake studied me. "Does it bug you that he can read all of your thoughts and see everything, but you can't see any of his?"

Then, he stared down at the bedspread.

I chewed on my lip, wanting to be honest. "More in the beginning. It felt super invasive, then. Now, it's like...Terlin has to put up with this whole internal monologue of mine, or thought noise, every second that we're both awake. If I had to experience hearing all of his thoughts at the same time as mine, I think we'd both go crazy in the span of a day. We wouldn't be able to keep our thoughts straight, you know?"

That got a real laugh. "Does he get one, from his thoughts and yours?"

"No. Well, when I was constantly thinking about us joining the Peace Movement, that was probably the closest he got to that. If I was a screaming involuntary, headaches would be a regular occurrence. Some of the higher ups are working on drugs for that, but I think that's kind of up there with eliminating free will. Not gonna happen. Which, you'd think, it would be totally obvious that any type of medication the Yeerk takes is going to affect them as much as their host mind," I mused.

"Humans, 1. Empire, 0," Jake grinned.

I personally thought the empire had a much higher score, but there was no need to point that out.

"Yeah. You do rule at causing trouble," I agreed, tousling Jake's hair, and earning his hand batting mine away from his head. "Anyway, Terlin tells me enough of what he's thinking so I don't feel in the dark, and by now, I can guess with about 70% accuracy what he thinks of something. Which is better than my basketball average."

"Your basketball skills are amazing, Tom," Midget told me, almost reverently.

I grinned, giving him a little nudge in the side. "Which shows how great my ability is to read Terlin's mind."

He nodded his head. "I guess if you're living in the same body for almost two years and neither is trying to hide anything..."

"Yeah. We're pretty good at reading each other," I finished for him.

Another silence. I was about to speak up, when Jake raised his next question.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around how gentle control works," Jake confessed. "I get it, but I don't get it..."

"What part don't you get?" I asked, gently.

He frowned. "I guess, the not fighting for control part."

"You mean, the biology? Or, the mental aspect?" I wondered.

"The mental part? Like, Tom," he began, "when he's talking or moving, even though you know that you can, that he's letting you, doesn't it still scare you, that he's the one doing everything?"

"Yeah, in the beginning," I recalled. "Even after I agreed to become voluntary, I was really freaked out that he could take control, gentle or not. I wanted to be able to use my body all the time, because I was terrified of being helpless. You know that firsthand." I gave his shoulder a squeeze, and Jake nodded, face tightening. "So, we practiced it. I think we did it with my arms, first." The memory was hazy, but it felt real enough. "I'd be in full control of everything except that, and Terlin would use gentle control on my arms, and I'd...not fight him, exactly, but move them in the opposite direction that he wanted. Until I became comfortable that just because Terlin was moving my body didn't mean that I couldn't."

"That was cool of him," Jake praised, and I could see that he meant it.

"Yeah, it was." I smiled. "He took everything pretty slowly with me, you know? I think, if more Yeerks did that, if they didn't fall into the empire propaganda...but, living in the Yeerk empire, it's hard to think for yourself," I sighed.

"He did," Jake objected.

I shrugged. "Terlin called it being pragmatic as much as being a decent person. Well, sentient being. Whatever we want to call nice slugs," I joked. "His viewpoint was that if I became voluntary, he could get away with giving me more freedom and leeway than was technically allowed. And, as long as he stayed under the radar, the chances of being accused of treason were pretty low. Lower, really, than a sub-visser or Visser who tried the same thing."

"He kind of gamed the system," Jake laughed.

"Yeah. He's smarter than most of the higher ups around, but I don't need to tell you that," I kidded.

He narrowed his eyes at me, mock offended. "Are you telling me that the only reason my team is kicking Yeerk empire butt is because Visser Three is incompetent?"

"I'd say..." I stalled, "70% of your success is great planning and execution and Earth animal firepower. 30% is Visser Three being Visser Three."

Jake rolled his eyes at me. "I'd reverse the percentages. We are talking about Visser Three, here."

"Well, sure, he's a total idiot with anything that's not related to Andalites," I allowed, laughing, "but, while I've never actually seen you in action, I'd say you're selling yourself short."

"I'll sell you a ticket, next time," Jake joked.

I gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. "Front row, right?"

"Obviously. Play your cards right, and I bet we can get Rachel and Marco to give you a wave," he laughed.

I briefly considered putting him in a headlock, maybe give him a couple of noogies, but decided it was way too early in our renewed relationship to do that.

"I feel so honored," I teased, instead. "Seriously, though, you're doing a lot better than we could have expected. There's a reason that he thinks you're Andalite warriors, and it's not just because you can turn into animals," I amended. "Keep this up, and the military's going to be recruiting you."

Jake paled. "I've had enough war for ten lifetimes, Tom."

I nodded, sympathetically. "Well, what if the military wanted to use the morphing power, after everything was over, and the Andalites didn't demand the morphing cube back? You'd be okay with showing them how it's gone, giving them some demonstrations? Telling them not to morph ant, no matter what?"

"I guess, at least, I have a duty to warn them never to morph ants," Jake conceded, with a grin. "Right now, it all feels pretty far off. If we ever get there..."

"When, not if," I assured him. "You will. You know what they say? About how it's a marathon, not a sprint?"

Jake looked less convinced. "Yeah. Maybe."

I pulled Jake into a sort of side hug, and we stayed like that for awhile.

Then, Jake sighed. "I should get back to Biology. You can have the desk now, if you want."

I shrugged. "I'm okay here. You want to use it, or...?"

"Think I'll stay here. Since I already made the massive climb, and all," Jake laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him, affectionately, but he'd already opened his book, so he probably missed it.

Really, it had been a good talk. Maybe, Jake hadn't asked me everything that had been on his mind, but we were making progress.

Maybe, this was another kind of marathon.


	4. Chapter 4

We worked in silence for another hour or so, until it was time to change and get ready for the wake.

I was kind of surprised by how many people showed up, including people my age and younger, but Grandpa G had lived a really long life, and people in this area probably spent more time together. Sure, there were fewer of them, and the homes were a lot further apart, but I guessed that this rural part of the county was more...well, neighborly. Stuff like not living literally across the street from each other didn't matter as much when it came to spending time with others. Anyway, even if it was rural, people still had cars and all that. It wasn't like you had to hitch a wagon to a horse and buggy, or however the saying went, to visit your neighbors.

More people recognized me and Jake than I recognized. That is, they knew our names and that we were his great grandkids. So, they acknowledged us and expressed their condolences, and Jake and I did the same, as best as we could. After all, I'd never been to a wake before, and neither had Jake.

True to my parents' word, Dad came by a little over an hour in, when there was somewhat of a gap among visitors (mourners?), and told us we were free to leave, as long as we stayed in the house. While it would have seemed disrespectful if we'd changed to go swimming when there were still people over, having to do homework was a fairly legitimate excuse.

We headed upstairs to get changed out of our good clothes and get more homework finished before the funeral the next day.

"How much more work do you have?" I asked, once we were back in our regular clothes, and I was opening my math book on the top bunk.

Jake pulled out a notebook. "I finished math and Biology, so I have three chapters to read for English, and two for History. Plus, fifty words to memorize for the Spanish test next week. I made the flashcards for those. What about you?"

Tentatively, I showed him my math book. "Just this."

Jake groaned. "How do you have less than I?"

"Terlin," I explained, a little sheepishly.

Another groan. "Not only am I gonna forget this stuff as soon as the test is over, I'm not going to use any of it after high school."

I couldn't entirely dispute this. "If you travel to a Spanish speaking country..."

"I'll hire a translator," Jake finished. "Or, maybe, have Ax join us. I think there's something in their brains that allows them to understand every language. And, he told us that thought speech is kind of universal."

Well, yeah. Visser Three must have been thrilled, when he'd murdered Elfangor and could gloat about it to every creature in the galaxy.

Okay, maybe not every creature, but still.

I wrapped an arm around Jake. "You're right. Well, unless the Yeerks win, you still have to pass high school, so..."

"I know, I know," was Jake's reluctant response. "And I don't hate the school enough to see it destroyed." He paused, then grinned. "Most days, anyway."

"Destroyed?" I echoed, sensing there was something more to this.

"Remember the Ellimist?" Jake asked. At my nod, he explained, "The first time we met him, he took us to the future-well, a future, anyway-and the school was destroyed. Because the Yeerks had won."

"That was when he showed you where the Kandrona was?" I recalled.

"Right." Jake shrugged. "I mean, if we lose the war, the future probably won't look exactly like that. They didn't know about Ax, for one thing. It was, or would have been, something like eight years from now? It still could happen, but I don't think what we saw would be what would be."

"To be totally honest, Midget, I'm glad I never met him. If he's the supposed good guy in this, we're not exactly in good hands. Even if you did manage to starve a few thousand Yeerks with that," I mused.

Jake blinked. "That's how many died?"

"I mean, I don't know the real count, and after Visser Three reported the problem with his ship, the number was probably a lot higher than what he told the Council. If he told them anything. But yeah, you guys did a lot of damage," I agreed.

"I was worried-after they started killing people who went free-that you'd be next. I didn't know...none of us did, except Ax, that they'd murder people like that..." Jake trailed off.

"Well, Visser Three's immediate plan was for as few humans to die as possible, because if there were enough disappearances, people would talk," I began. "Hork-Bajir were second priority, because there are less of them, and they're natural weapons. But...when things got messed up, Visser Three's advisors were basically like, look, whatever you do, don't let kids die. Adults are one thing, especially if they don't have families. But, you start getting kids killed, that's another can of worms. You can't cover that up, no matter how hard you try. The visser actually listened, for once."

"Were you scared?" Jake asked me, studying my face.

I nodded, then shrugged. "Well. Kinda, yeah. But, we-they-had a new Kandrona coming in, so everyone knew it was just a matter of getting through the next two weeks. That's when the problems with the ship started. And with the 'let no one under eighteen die' mandate..." I shrugged again. "Looking back, that's probably as close as Terlin ever came to dying."

"Do you think...was it...?" Jake didn't finish the question.

"A mistake? Hell, no. If Visser Three hadn't taken you seriously enough before, he sure did, then. He kept the next Kandrona guarded so heavily, and so secretly, I bet even half of the sub-vissers under him don't know where it is." I squeezed his shoulder. "It's war, Midget. You did what you had to."

"Yeah, well, I don't think we're going to try something like that again," Jake admitted, managing a small smile.

"Don't worry. You're doing enough to sabotage him right now." I squeezed his shoulder. "You need to live, to relax, sometimes."

"Thanks, Tom."

"That being said..." I glanced pointedly at our textbooks, and Jake groaned.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Mom." Jake made a face at me, but picked up his English book. "You too, Tom. If I have suffer through homework..."

I tousled his hair. "Fair enough."

We did get all of our work finished before heading to dinner, minus Jake's memorization of the fifty Spanish vocabulary words. He only knew about half of them. I promised him that we could work on them later that weekend, or even after we got home, and he seemed happy that I was willing to help him.

Dinner was kind of a quiet affair. I guessed that everyone was all talked out from making small talk with friends and family, and there was still the funeral to get through the next day. Jake asked if we could go swimming after we ate, and Dad agreed, as long as we waited a half an hour for the food to settle in our stomachs.

There was a long dock out to the lake, but the wood was kind of old.

"Probably old enough to break," Jake mused, stepping away from it.

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. Teasingly, I added, "You want to morph some water animal here? Maybe a dolphin? Show me how it's done?"

Jake looked at me like I'd gone crazy, but when he spoke up, his answer was not what I'd thought he would have said.

"I didn't bring my morphing outfit, and this"-he gestured to his loose swim trunks and shirt-"would fall right off me."

Ohhh.

"Right. Dumb idea," I admitted.

He shook his head. "No, you just, you know. Weren't thinking like an Animorphs."

Yeah, that was true enough.

"How long did it take you to figure out how to morph clothes?" I asked, jumping in.

Jake followed me, doing a cannonball and splashing water all over me. "Not long. Cassie figured it out first, but even she can't do shoes."

"Andalites don't need foot protection," I guessed.

"They eat with their feet...their hooves," Jake explained, patiently.

"Right. I forgot about that." I swam around a little, doing a couple of circles around Jake. Grabbed at his feet. "Shark monster on the loose!"

"Hey!" he complained, as I successfully caught one and began to pull at it.

"Chomp chomp chomp!" I added, and began to tickle it.

Yes, Jake's always been very ticklish around his feet. Now seemed like the best time to make the most of that.

He lost his balance, laughing so hard, and then fell in the water, head first. He came up, gasping a little, coughing up a few mouthfuls of water.

It was shallow enough to stand in, so I swam over and began thumping Jake on the back. "You okay?" I asked.

He glared at me-well, a mock glare. "Shark monster practically drowned me."

"He's gone now," I promised, raising my hands in surrender. "He swam...um...that way."

"You sure?" Jake's voice was still a little raspy.

"Positive. He won't be back," I assured him.

We swam around for a little, splashing each other, but not inflicting any bodily harm.

Well, until I felt myself suddenly going under as Jake, out of nowhere, dunked me.

"Hey!" I spluttered, coughing up several mouthfuls of water. "What was that for?"

He grinned innocently. "That," he explained, "was Dunk monster."

I smiled back, bearing my teeth. "You realize this means war, right?"

Jack didn't answer, but he swam away so quickly, he was several yards ahead of me before I thought to start chasing him. Not that it took long to catch up, but I had to execute my plan with caution. In a sense, this was a lot like basketball, where I had to steal the ball away from the opponent. The key, here, was the element of surprise.

Jake had to slow down, to catch his breath. While he did, I held my breath, waiting in the water. Then, at just the right moment...

POUNCE!

Then...

DUNK!

Poor Midget was under the water before he knew what hit him.

I wasn't cruel. I only held him under for two seconds, tops.

Then again, when you're not expecting it, even two seconds without air can seem like a lot longer.

Also, the water was deep enough that you couldn't comfortably stand and breathe. Well, Jake couldn't.

When he came up, Jake didn't exactly look panicked, but I held him up several inches by his arms so he could get his breath back.

It took longer than I had expected, and I pulled him over to a more shallow part of the lake.

"You okay, Midget?" I asked, gently.

He nodded, still looking a little weak. I should have noticed something was wrong as we ended up in a deeper area, instead of staying in the shallower end.

DUNK!

He held me under for at least ten seconds.

Okay, well, at least five.

When he let go, I was spluttering and spitting water all over the place, but mostly (intentionally or not, I'll never say) in the direction of his face.

"Revenge of Dunk monster," he explained, once I'd stopped hacking up a lung.

"There could be a third version," I threatened, but he raised his hands in surrender.

"Truce?" he asked. I studied Jake. "Truce," I agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Well, for tonight, anyway."

"Fair enough," he agreed. Then, "Shark monster's still gone?"

"Still gone," I confirmed. For good measure, I added, "This lake is monster free. For tonight."

He nodded. "Good."

We engaged in non contact play for at least another half an hour, until Mom called us to come inside and get ready for bed. Obediently, we emerged from the lake, drenched and exhausted, but happy.

Even though the lake water was probably almost as clean as our drinking water, we still took showers before heading off to bed. Jake let me go first, saying that he'd use the time to study his Spanish vocabulary. Sure enough, he was immersed in his flash cards when I returned to our attic bedroom.

"Your turn," I told him, causing him to jump. "Sorry."

He just laughed, a little self consciously. "No problem. Um, thanks."

Jake gathered up his pajamas and left the room. For the first time, I noticed a locker near the edge of the room. Figuring we'd have to spend some time clearing out Grandpa G's stuff tomorrow, I opened it up.

War medals...and a Nazi dagger.

I dropped the dagger back into the locker, but removed the medals. They were pretty cool, and Jake would probably like them. If we survived the war, he'd probably get a ton of medals, and he could add Grandpa G's to his future collection. I kind of wondered why Grandpa G kept these hidden away, until I remembered what Mom or Dad had said about him basically wanting to forget the war after he was back, and live a regular life.

Jake already felt that way. I didn't remember how long Grandpa G had fought during World War II, but the United States had tried to stay out of it until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. That had been in early December of 1941, and the war ended in early September of 1945. Which meant less than three years of combat for the United States. Jake was already approaching two years.

Sure, he wasn't in a bunker, away from home. He saw me and his parents every day. But, until about a month ago, he'd worried that he'd have to kill me in battle, because I was a Controller, and my Yeerk would be fighting for the opposite side. Plus, soldiers didn't have to go to school, much less write papers or study for tests. Grandpa G might not have been allowed to give our great grandmother all of the details in his letters to her about where he was fighting-another fact I recalled from History-but she knew where he was.

Maybe, it was comparing apples and oranges. If some kind of afterlife really existed, like Heaven for the good guys and regular people, and hell for Visser Three and Hitler, Jake and Grandpa G could swap war stories.

Not for many, many decades, though.

I was still lost in my thoughts, sitting on the bottom bunk and staring at the war medals, when Jake came back from the shower.

"What'cha got there?" he asked, joining me.

"War medals from Grandpa G's locker. Thought you might want them." I nodded to the other side of the room. "There's also a really creepy Nazi dagger, but I don't think you'd want that."

"Yeah, that would be like collecting a Yeerk head clamp or a model of a Taxxon," Jake remarked. "Can I see the medals?"

"You bet. Here, they can be a starter set for your future collection. When we win, I mean," I added, handing him the collection.

Jake rolled his eyes at me. "I'm not gonna get any medals."

"For literally saving the planet from a hostile alien empire? If you don't come away with this with at least twenty medals, numerous book deals, and a billion dollars in cash, I'll lose complete faith in our country," I objected, only half kidding.

"A billion dollars?" Jake echoed. "In cash? You know, Tom, that that's like a thousand million dollars. And a million is a thousand thousand dollar bills. I don't think they even make a thousand dollar bill. I'd need something like a house full of suitcases to keep all of that cash."

I shrugged. "Okay, party pooper. Keep it in the bank. Or invest in CDs or something boring like that," I teased him.

He snorted. "Less chance of being robbed that way."

He ran his hand along one of medals for a few minutes, studying it. Maybe, wondering what it would be like to receive his own, after the war ended and the government finally acknowledged we'd been invaded by aliens. Then, Jake put them back on the desk, trying to hide a yawn. "Thanks, Tom. If Mom and Dad say it's okay, I think I'll keep them. If you're sure you don't want them..."

"I'm good. And I definitely don't want the dagger," I added, with a little shudder.

Jake yawned again. "They can probably find a museum or something for that."

"Tired?" I asked, pulling back the covers.

"Yeah. Do you want to-?" Jake nodded at the bed.

"Definitely." I rolled over so I was propped up against the wall.

Jake crawled in next to me, and I held him close. My head rested itself on top of his, and I could smell the shampoo he'd just used on his hair.

"You want to talk about anything?" I pressed.

Probably, Jake was too tired, but I didn't want him to go to bed feeling like I hadn't given him the chance to ask me anything, or leave stuff unspoken that was on his mind.

I felt him shake his head. "I'm kind of tired. Maybe tomorrow, if there's time?"

"Sure." I was quiet, just for a few seconds, and then added, "You know, Jake, that if you ever have something you need to get off your chest, or ask me, I'm here for you. Okay?"

Jake turned over so that he was facing me. Smiling, he nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks. This-I can't tell you how much better things have gotten. It's not easy, but..."

"Everything feels lighter?" I offered.

Another nod, and a yawn.

"Well," I joked, "I can't promise that Terlin and I will be the ones to change the fate of the planet, but I get what you mean. It's been a lot easier for me, too, and I'm not the one fighting the battles. Sometimes, I wish we were..."

"No." Jake's tone was intense, and I wouldn't have been surprised if a lump began to form in his throat. "I-I need you to stay safe, Tom. I can't lose you, again."

I pulled Jake even closer to me. "Hey, Midget," I soothed, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. We'll stay as safe as we can, okay?"

I felt Jake nod, then bury his head in my chest. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks," he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "You know you're gonna suffocate if you try to sleep like that. Hand on."

I carefully repositioned Jake so that we were still hugging, as in, I had him in an almost impossible to move hug grip, but we could both breathe.

He managed a laugh. "Night, Tom."

"Night, Jake," I murmured.

I slept through the night, and when I woke up, Jake was still asleep, curled up against me. It struck me, not for the first time, that if you just saw his sleeping face, you might think he was several years younger. Well, maybe if you squinted. He didn't need to start shaving yet, but I didn't think it would be long. I'd read somewhere that guys started growing facial hair between nine and fifteen, even if it didn't start out being that much when you were a teen. I tried to grow a beard once, before becoming a Controller, but gave up after not shaving for a month. It looked weird, being just a little clump of hair beneath my chin. My parents hadn't said anything before or after I'd shaved it off, so, maybe, it was too small for them to notice.

More likely, they knew that teenagers experimented with their looks, and growing facial hair was a lot less serious than getting a tattoo or piercings.

In the midst of my musings, Jake woke up. I felt him stir before I heard him make his usual "waking up" sounds, which is a polite way of saying that he probably sounded a lot like our grandparents when they woke up, even though he didn't have any bad knees or injured joints.

When I first pointed this out to Terlin, he'd retorted that my "waking up" sounds were just as bad.

Pretty sure he was joking.

Today, he yawned and turned his head to that it was right on top of my stomach. "Don't wanna go to school," he mumbled, or something like that.

I moved us up into a sitting position. "No school today," I promised, speaking softly. "Just...um, the funeral."

I felt Jake nod. "Right."

I unwrapped one arm from around his frame. "Hey. Sleep well?"

Another nod, and he stretched. Loudly. "Yeah. No nightmares. You?"

"Nope. No dreams at all, actually," I answered. "No nightmares, huh? That's pretty good, right? Two days in a row?"

Jake got out of bed. "I guess. I don't get them every night, just once or twice a week."

Of course, I knew this, having slept next to him almost every night for the past month. I always woke up when Jake had a nightmare, although none of them had been as bad as that first night.

"Yeah, you're right. I figured, unfamiliar place and all that..." I shrugged.

"Ohh. Yeah, I guess that could do it," Jake agreed.

I stood up, gave him a smile. "Well, Midget, I'm glad you're sleeping well, at any rate."

He smiled back, but it seemed tentative. "Tom? What happens if I have a nightmare tonight?"

"You're just worrying about this now?" I teased.

"No. Well, I can pretty much know I'll have one the night after a battle, or the day after that, if I'm exhausted," Jake began. "But, I definitely get them in between, and it's usually at least once or twice a week. The tiger dream, you know?" I nodded. "But I've only had that once since..." He shrugged. "I'm glad I'm having them less, so far. I just..."

"You don't want to take it for granted that they'll go away?" I finished, gently.

He nodded. "Especially the tiger dream."

I pulled Jake into a hug. "Well, wake me up, if you haven't already by thrashing around and stealing all of the blankets." He laughed. "Seriously, though. I'm here for you."

Jake let go of the hug, first.

"It doesn't feel like I'm a little kid? Waking you up every time I've had a bad dream?" Jake pressed, not quite looking at me.

I shook my head, put an arm on his shoulder. "You're fighting a war, Midget. I figure you're entitled to wake up your big brother when you have a nightmare about it. Actually...I think they have a term for that." I frowned, trying to remember.

"A term for waking up your brother when you have a war related nightmare?" Jake asked me, also frowning.

"No...what soldiers have afterwards. Ohh, I got it!" I snapped my fingers. "PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And it's not just for soldiers, but it definitely fits with what you've got."

Jake forced a laugh. "Post traumatic?"

Yeah. I could see his point.

"We'll coin a new term for you and your friends. MTSD. Mid Traumatic Stress Disorder," I offered.

Another laugh. "Unless it's ETSD or BTSD?"

"Early or Beginning?" I guessed.

"Yeah." Jake let out a sigh. "If this goes on for another ten years, or longer..."

"It won't. The Andalites will have gotten their bladed tails here by then." Hopefully, anyway. "Provided you haven't killed off all the vissers, first."

"Yeah," Jake repeated. "I hope so."

"Anyway, in case you forgot, you don't have to go to battle today," I pointed out. "We have a funeral to get ready for. That's got to be more fun than killing Hork-Bajir, right?"

"Definitely."

This time, Jake's smile was real.

"C'mon, let's get some breakfast. Then," I added, knowing this was a dad joke if there ever was one, "we can put the fun in funeral."

As I had expected, Jake groaned at the awful pun.


	5. Chapter 5

The service wasn't as long as I had expected. Maybe about an hour or so.

The local VFW chapter was there, and there were other war soldiers who took the folded American flag and gave it to our grandmother. Pretty much everyone there cried, myself and Jake included. We didn't bury Grandpa G afterwards, but we did put a rose on the top of his casket as we headed out. I was sort of glad that we wouldn't need to bury him. Based on the few looks I stole at Jake during the ceremony, he look kind of shaken up. Watching Grandpa G's body descend into the earth might have been a lot for him to handle. Too much like what could happen to his own body, way too soon, if the Yeerk empire had their way.

It was one thing to fight a war and know that you could die at any battle. Another to see the body of a beloved family member disappear into the ground, permanently.

So, yeah, I was glad that we could just leave the church and let them handle what would happen next, without us having to take part in it.

There was a reception, afterwards. It was supposed to go on for several hours. Just like the previous day, after an hour or so of polite conversation with near strangers, Dad told us that we could skip out early.

Once we were back in the attic, I turned to Jake, who looked a lot more like himself. "You okay, Midget?"

He managed a smile, but it was a little shaky. "It's just...it's weird, you know?"

I nodded, then wrapped my arms around him. Jake squeezed me back, hard. We stayed like that for several minutes, and I didn't let go until Jake broke off the hug. One look at his face told me that he was doing better.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I want to get out of this straitjacket and into something more comfortable," I half-heartedly complained, pulling on my tie for emphasis.

Jake managed a real laugh. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Um, want me to leave the room?"

I shook my head. "Naw, we might run the risk of running into someone and be forced to socialize." I made a face, like this was the worst thing in the world. "We'll just, you know, look in opposite directions."

Jake snickered. "Yeah. Good idea."

Five minutes later, our suits were back in our suitcases, and we were a lot more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts.

"I can feel my neck again," Jake grinned, running a hand along it for emphasis. "And I can breathe."

"Yeah. Feels good not to be choking," I agreed, only half kidding.

Whoever decided that males should wrap tight pieces of cloth around their neck as a fashion statement...well, they were flat out insane.

Jake retrieved his Spanish flash cards from the desk, eying them like they were poisonous snakes.

Maybe, Taxxons.

"It's just that Spanish vocabulary you have to memorize?" I asked.

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes at me. "Wish we hadn't worked so hard beforehand."

I snickered. "We can always study ahead."

Jake gave me a look that indicated I'd lost my mind.

Well, maybe I had.

Funny enough, when Terlin would make the same suggestion, and he'd done so more than once, I'd have pretty much the same reaction.

Thinking about him, now, reminded me that he was missing. Well, not missing missing, but out of my head.

To be honest, I hadn't given him a ton of thought over the past few days, but that was partly because I didn't want to think about how weird it was to be without him for so long. If I didn't think about it too much, I wouldn't miss him.

Did he miss me? I kind of hoped so. I was sure that Cassie was great and all, but it had to be at least a little weird for both of them, too.

Terlin had once told me that there was a familiarity about a host's mind, once a Yeerk had occupied it for long enough. Even if the host didn't want you there, the Yeerk knew their mind and felt something like safety there. He'd only had two hosts before me. A Gedd, who'd been voluntary, and a Hork-Bajir, who hadn't been. Not that this was all that unusual with Hork-Bajir. The Yeerks had flat out set out to conquer them. No Sharing or promise of fresh meat, the way they did with us and the Taxxons.

"Tom?" Jake asked, interrupting my train of thought.

I realized that he'd taken a seat on the bottom bunk with his note cards, while I'd been standing around, lost in thought.

I had to laugh. "Sorry, Midget. I got distracted. You want any help studying?"

"Don't you have to start working ahead on something?" he teased, with a grin.

"Oh, shut up," I told him, without any malice. "Helping you study is way more fun than working ahead. Or doing any of my own work, if I had any."

"Your definition of 'fun' needs work," Jake laughed.

"Well, you know. In comparison," I admitted.

Jake just rolled his eyes at me, then sort of moved over on the bed, even though there was already plenty of space. I got the message, though. I sat down next to him, and accepted the note cards.

"Okay, want to do Spanish to English, or English to Spanish?" I asked.

"I need to know both," Jake explained, rolling his eyes, again. "But...let's start with English to Spanish."

"You bet. Hey," I added, "you got Mr. Mueller, right?"

Jake nodded, adjusted his position on the bed. "Yeah, why?"

"Make sure you remember where the accents go, or else he'll count the whole word as wrong," I cautioned.

Jake made a face. "Yeah, I know."

He probably learned that the hard way.

"Okay, just checking." I glanced at the first card. "Spanish for 'painting'?"

An hour later, Jake was guaranteed to ace his test. Well, assuming that Mr. Mueller actually tested on what Jake had studied, and didn't throw in any trick questions. Like, stuff from the next chapter that they hadn't covered yet. I considered mentioning this, but I didn't want to be too much like my parents (or my Yeerk), and besides, if Jake knew about the accents, he knew about the potential for trick questions.

At Jake's request, we went through all of the words one last time, and he got them all right.

"You're so going to ace this, Midget," I told him. "But, if you want, we can go over them once more the night before your test."

"Quiz," Jake corrected. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Tom."

"Any time. You know that, right?" I asked, watching him.

He nodded. "I know. It was harder, before..."

"Well, yeah," I acknowledged, with a nod of my own. "When you figured an evil slug was running my life and just waiting for an excuse to find someone to do the same to you, I can understand why going to him for homework help wouldn't be your first choice of people."

Jake leaned against me, almost automatically. "When you tried to get me to let you help me with math that day, I was sure you were up to something. Had he...?"

I shook my head as I wrapped an arm around Jake's shoulder. "We didn't know about you guys until after we joined. Like, immediately after. I was just trying to, you know, be a decent brother. Reach out to you. Even without knowing what had been going on, you seemed more...on edge...than usual. I guess, I figured, extent the metaphorical olive branch, and all that?"

What I didn't say was that I'd been trying to do that before. Well, sort of. Jake hating me meant he wouldn't join The Sharing, but I also didn't want him to hate me.

"Oh." Jake yawned, then tried to hide it.

"It's been a few days," I observed. "Stinks that we're going to be back in school on Wednesday."

"Don't remind me," Jake groaned.

Casually, I removed a pillow from the end of the bed, and placed it behind my back. Jake's gaze followed my eyes as I did this, so I made a show of yawning.

"Tired?" Jake asked me.

"Now that you mention it..." I stretched my free arm. "What about you?"

He didn't try to hide a yawn, this time. "Kinda."

I reached out, retrieved the other pillow from the side of the bed, and handed it to Jake, who accepted it.

"I'm gonna shut my eyes for a little," I told him, leaning against my pillow along the side of the bed facing the wall.

"Yeah, me too," Jake agreed, laying down next to me, placing his pillow right next to my face without it actually being on it.

I rewrapped my arms around him, hugging him against me like he was Homer. "I'll be glad when we're back at home and have more room for this."

"Mmm," Jake agreed.

By the time we woke up, it was time for dinner. I knew this because Mom was knocking on the door, making the announcement.

Also, even though we were two floors above the kitchen, I swore I could smell the food being prepared.

I still felt sleepy, but I knew it would wear off once I got moving. Had Terlin been in my head, it would have been a fifty fifty chance I would have asked him to take control until my mind started working again. He would have, too. Not because he preferred controlling my body over me doing it, but because we were friends.

Not having this option, I made myself suck it up and forced my eyes open, then the rest of my body. Jake, based on the "waking up" noises he made, was just as tired as I was.

"Still tired?" I asked, sympathetically, once we were both standing up.

"Yeah." Jake laughed a little. "It's weird, you know?"

"How so?"

He shrugged. "I've gotten by on way less sleep before."

I had no doubt that was true, even though Jake hadn't been on any major missions since I'd joined the Peace Movement.

"Well, funerals are stressful, and it's a different place, and all of that," I guessed. "Plus, even though we're technically missing school, it's hardly a vacation. Or a real weekend."

"Not that we can complain," Jake laughed. He shrugged. "It's not so bad."

I nodded, then put an arm around Jake's shoulder. "Anyway, we'll be back home tomorrow, and then things will be more or less normal."

"Normal for us, anyway," Jake laughed, again.

I had to grin. "Yeah."

Dinner was a pretty quiet affair. My parents, me, Jake, and my mom's parents. The rest of the family had taken off, at least for the night. There was probably a lot of work left to do, what with packing up Grandpa G's house and deciding whether to sell it or not, but I had a feeling that my grandparents would be dealing with most of that. I thought that they would share more stories about Grandpa G while we ate on the porch, but everyone seemed pretty talked out. Jake mentioned the medals he'd found, and Grandma told him that he should have them, that Grandpa G would want him to have them.

We didn't say anything about the Nazi dagger. I sure didn't want it, and I knew that Jake didn't. Maybe, it would go to a museum or something. There had to be an interest in that kind of thing.

After we finished eating, Dad asked us if we were going to go swimming again. I turned to Jake, who shrugged.

"I promise, Midget, the lake's free of monsters," I joked.

He grinned, then shrugged again.

"How about we take a walk around the woods?" he suggested.

Mom smiled, her face lighting up. "There are some berry bushes around here. Raspberry and blueberry."

"Oh, really?" I asked, trying to sound interested.

Dad nodded. "I remember those. Sweeter than what you get in stores." Seeing our lack of enthusiasm, he added, "Well, it's just an idea."

I shrugged. "Yeah, if we see them, maybe we'll try a few."

Once we took our plates inside, we headed out to a path near the house. "I figure if we stay around here, we won't run the risk of getting lost."

Jake nodded. "And if we did get lost, I could morph bird and figure out where we are."

I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated manner, then gave him a gentle nudge. "Show off."

"Just saying," Jake answered, with his own eye roll.

I put an arm around him. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It definitely comes in handy in non Yeerk situations."

"I used to be against that," Jake admitted. "I thought we shouldn't use it for fun. Now...not that we have a ton of time for that."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with using it for fun, as long as it's more or less legal and you also use it to kick Yeerk butt," I objected. "You guys are still kids, and you need to do something to blow off steam."

Once again, I thought how irresponsible Elfangor was to give this responsibility to human kids.

"You don't think it's wrong, somehow?"

I shook my head. "There's no limit to the number of times you can morph, right? It's not as though whenever you morph for fun, you're taking away from what you can do in battle. Besides, if you do morph for fun, you'll get better at it. Know the instincts and the strengths and all of that. Plus, practice makes perfect."

"Yeah. Maybe."

We were quiet for a few minutes, just walking close to each other. No sign of the berry bushes, but I also hadn't been keeping a close eye out for them.

"Tom?" Jake asked, his voice a little quieter than normal.

"Yeah, Jake?"

"Can I ask you some stuff? About Terlin?"

I turned to look at Jake, smiling. "Sure. I'll answer whatever I can."

Privately, I was wondering what Jake could want to know, since we'd established that he was on our side over a month ago. Still. Questions can come up at the weirdest times.

I knew this from personal experience.

"Um...what's he like?"

I gave Jake a little nudge, grinning. "Can you be more vague, Midget?"

To my relief, Jake laughed. "Yeah, okay."

I chewed on the inside of my mouth, considering. "He's kind. Practical. Has a sense of humor, but still not the best at making jokes. Humor's not really cultivated in the Yeerk empire."

Jake grinned. "Marco would say that's tragic."

I snorted. "He's not completely wrong."

"Yeah." He paused, just for a second. "Think it would be any different? If they did?"

"Hmm." I thought for a minute. I'd always thought that a sense of humor was, essentially, a natural talent. Sure, like sports, you had to cultivate it, but you were either born with a talent for it or you weren't. "Not if the majority of Yeerks made hosts the butt of their jokes, but it could also have taught them a little humility about their empire, and maybe respect for other species." I shrugged. "That's a deep question, Midget."

"Andalites aren't much known for their sense of humor, either," Jake acknowledged. "Ax's jokes can be downright painful. Don't tell him I told you."

"I won't," I promised, grinning.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I remained close to Jake, more out of companionship than to protect him. Sure, the woods might have some wild animals, but if any got near us, he could morph.

It was nice, being with Jake in a town that was completely Yeerk-free, but also a little surreal. Almost two years of my life had consisted of Terlin and myself, and my desire to keep my family safe. Learning that Jake was the leader of the Animorphs made me insanely proud, but it also made me realize how complex things had become. Jake couldn't just avoid getting infested by a cruel Yeerk by avoiding The Sharing.

Every day, his life was at risk.

No wonder he's acted like he'd hated me.

I was about to speak up again, maybe ask him how he was doing, when we came across those berry bushes Mom had talked about. It was light enough to be able to tell that they were legitimate blackberries, instead of those poison berries that sometimes grew in the woods.

Jake stopped in front of them. "Guess those are the berries Mom meant."

I nodded, picked one off of a branch, and tasted it. "Mmm. It's good."

Jake selected one and popped it in his mouth, then grinned. "Yeah."

We ended up spending the next ten minutes or so picking blackberries from the bushes and eating them. Without any containers to carry them, we couldn't bring them home, except in our hands. Which, given how good they tasted, was unlikely to happen.

After we were full, there were still a lot left.

"Too bad we're leaving tomorrow. Could have gone back, and brought some home," I sighed.

We'd taken a seat under a large tree, resting from the enormous effort of feeding ourselves. Of course.

Jake rolled his eyes at me. "They have them in stores, Tom."

I attempted to wrap an arm around him, but he ducked out of the way.

"What?" I asked, frowning a little.

"Oh." Jake looked down at his purple hands. "I thought you were going to put me in a headlock."

I shook my head. "I wasn't."

"Sorry."

I reached over, and, this time, Jake let me wrap an arm around him.

Even relaxed a little against me.

I smiled to myself, but his comment worried me. Well, concerned.

"I didn't do that too often, did I?" I wondered.

Jake shrugged. "I think once or twice. I definitely remember you giving me a huge noogie that one time."

Even if Terlin had been in my head, I wouldn't have needed his help to know what Jake was talking about.

"You totally deserved that, Midget! You said I hadn't really got the winning basket, because the timer had run out when it went in!"

"It still stung for at least two days after!"

"Really?"

I hadn't known that. Ouch.

He shrugged. "Think so."

I wrapped another arm around Jake. "I'm sorry."

Jake shrugged, curling himself into me. "It's okay. I was eleven. It was years ago. Anyway, it's not like other older brothers aren't way worse."

I made a face, which, of course, he couldn't see. "Yeah. We can be jerks, sometimes. Too much ego. Testosterone, maybe."

Jake looked up at me. "You were never a jerk, Tom."

"Even after I nearly gave you permanent head damage?" I half joked.

"Okay. Maybe except then," he laughed.

I smiled to myself. "Thanks, Midget."

"No problem, Tom."

We sat like that for several minutes. It was relaxing, being outside in the early nighttime. I guessed people called this time "twilight"? Before the darkness really hit, but past sundown. The daytime animals would be heading off to sleep, rabbits in their burrows, and the squirrels and deer...well, wherever they spent their nights. I'd asked Jake if Tobias hunted at night, once, but he'd told me that red-tailed hawks did that during the day. Their eyes weren't all that much better than human ones at night. Then, he would rest in a large tree, and hope not to encounter any predators.

Had to be a hard way to live. Even if you got to fly in exchange. Tobias could morph human and stay like that for more than two hours, but he'd be out of the fight. It might have been a temptation if he'd had family who actually cared about him, but there was just a deadbeat aunt and uncle. His role, it seemed, was fighting with his friends in a hawk body. At least, until the Yeerk empire wad defeated.

Not that the others hadn't paid their own dues. Rachel had given up gymnastics awhile back, even though she'd claimed it had more to do with the fact that she was too tall to ever excel at it instead of admit it was because of the Yeerks. She'd also had the chance to live with her dad, but said no because she was fighting the Yeerks. Not that she could tell him this. Marco, as we all knew, had lost his mom as the host body of Visser One. Until recently, my own brother thought that he was living with the enemy. Things were better between us, but we still had to be careful around our parents. Ax had lost his older brother, and was now tasked with the job of killing Visser Three. Andalites had a strong sense of payback. Not that all of the Andalites and a lot of the Yeerks wouldn't celebrate at Visser Three's death.

It would have been a lot for any adult to take. Way too much for any kid. Yet, here they were, fighting a seemingly impossible war, holding out hope that the Andalites would come back and take the majority of the burden from them. Given that they'd been fighting for a year and a half, Terlin and I privately had my doubts that the Andalites were in much of a hurry. Still. It could happen.

The best thing, really, would be for the Peace Movement to grow in such massive numbers that we could all take down the empire. Then, infestation would continue, but on a strictly voluntary basis. No human who didn't want a Yeerk would be forced to submit to infestation, and anyone who changed their mind could simply opt out after the next three day cycle ended.

It would be awhile before that happened, though. Illim and Mr. Tidwell guessed that our numbers were nearing three hundred, which was something, but hardly an army. Especially when only half of the members had hosts, and most weren't exactly built for combat.

I looked down at Jake. He looked relaxed, but his eyes were open, so I knew he hadn't fallen asleep.

Which was a good thing, come to think about it. We'd need to start heading back soon, before it got too dark, and I would have chosen to carry him over wake him up.

I gave him a squeeze. "You okay?"

Jake looked up at me, his mouth forming a smile. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"Hopefully not about all of the ways I made your life awful," I joked.

That got an eye roll. Good.

"Just that, you know, it's nice being here. Not the whole funeral aspect, but taking a break from everything," Jake explained. "Even if it's only for a couple of days."

I nodded. "It's easier to do that, when you're literally physically away from it all."

"Yeah," Jake agreed.

I was about to speak again, reassure Jake that we were on his side and that things would be that much easier, when Jake spoke up again.

"Do you miss him? Or, is it more...?" He trailed off.

"We've been so busy with the funeral and the wake. And homework. I can go hours without thinking about him, and then, it's like, oh yeah, he's not there. I sort of miss him, then. But, I know he's not gone permanently, just for a couple of days." I shrugged. "If there wasn't so much going on, I'd probably be more aware that he's gone."

Jake nodded his head.

More silence, but it was the kind where you know that the other person is about to speak up. They're trying to find the right words.

"You told me the other day he gives you control, but when he's using it but not taking it, it's gentle control. Was that weird, at first?" Jake wondered.

"Totally. During the first few weeks, even though I was in control most of the time, I was still freaked out that he could just take it. That he would need to. That was worse than the whole ability to read minds thing. I could still move my body, but I still felt...powerless," I began.

"You were," Jake reminded me. "He could take control at any minute and not give it back. Make you into his slave. Lock you in the corner of your mind. Torture you, punish you."

My heart raced, and I wondered if he'd just described his experience with Temrash. The slug who'd infested him at the hospital for three days.

I took a deep breath, then let it out.

"Yeah," I agreed. "He could have. I mean, they all can. Physically, at least. Not that most of them do it. Especially if you're voluntary."

Jake turned to me. "You're not saying it's better to give in? Be voluntary?"

His words had an edge to them.

I raised my hands in surrender, kept my voice even. "No way. Trust me, I hate what the Yeerks do as much as you. Most of them, anyway. Terlin, Aftran, Illim...they're the good ones. They're fighting to end that kind of thinking, you know?"

Jake looked away. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I sighed. "Hey, you've been fighting Visser Three and his cronies for what? Nearly two years? You're not likely to come across many Yeerks like Aftran. And, Midget, I haven't forgotten that you were infested. Not by a peaceful Yeerk."

"Definitely not peaceful," he agreed.

"I'm just saying...I mean, you know that they're not all bad. They sure aren't all good, but there are those who are...well, kind of in between. They want hosts, and especially ones who don't hate them, but they're still all too aware of this whole police state that the vissers have the Yeerks living in, and most have probably never even heard of the Peace Movement, much less been approached by someone who's a member. Otherwise, we'd probably have thousands, even millions, of Yeerks like Illim. The empire has to know this, or they wouldn't have tried to destroy the Peace Movement," I finished, a little awkwardly.

Jake nodded, and I could see from his expression that he was really thinking this over.

"It's a lot to take in, I know," I reassured him, placing an arm around his shoulder.

"It's easier to fight them when you don't think of all of this. Cassie quit, once, and that was before she knew about the Peace Movement. She ended up meeting Aftran and..." Jake shrugged.

"The fact that you guys are even fighting in this war is a lot for me, honestly," I admitted. "I'm not saying that you should all quit, but it's the military that should have been given the morphing power, not a small group of twelve year olds."

"Tom, we were thirteen when it started," Jake protested.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Like that's any better."

He shrugged, then laughed. "We kind of got off the original topic."

I frowned. "What was that?"

"What it's like. At first," Jake reminded me.

"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "Weird, I guess. They say that even if you're voluntary, it takes a month or so to adapt. It's all so new, you know? I figure that number is if your Yeerk is decent and all of that."

"Are they? The ones with voluntary humans?"

I shrugged. "Probably, but I don't know firsthand. I know that if you're voluntary and your Yeerk is cruel, you can report them to the sub-Visser. There are several, and there's always one on duty at the pool. If you're being hurt, and the empire knows you're voluntary, they don't want to make you involuntary, so they'll probably reassign you. Of course, they have to validate that, usually with cross infestation, if you complain too much. The first time, though, they check the Yeerk's history and might reprimand a Yeerk who's hurting their host, but they really want voluntary hosts to stay voluntary, so..."

Jake nodded, but made a face. "It's still like you're property to them."

"Yeah. Pretty much," I allowed.

"You got lucky, right? Because you weren't exactly voluntary when they put Terlin in your head?" Jake wondered.

I shrugged. "I wasn't officially assigned to anyone at that point, so Terlin was probably the closest one who could reach my head who didn't already have a host."

"You got lucky," Jake repeated.

I shrugged. "Probably. We don't know the ratio of decent Yeerks to jerks in the pool. I figure a lot more would be in the Peace Movement if it wasn't so secretive. Not that it shouldn't be, but the way Illim and the others run things, it's hard to join if you don't know people there."

"Terlin joined," Jake pointed out.

I gave him a nudge. "It helps the Movement if the big brother of the leader of the so-called Andalite Bandits is on your side, Midget."

"You're saying you get special treatment?" Jake teased.

"Maybe a little," I admitted. "When Mr. Tidwell and Illim started talking to us, asking us these semi personal questions, for Yeerks, about how long I'd been his host and my voluntary status and all of that...we were definitely on our guard. Not sure there would have been a better way to do it, though."

Jake leaned against me. "I still can't believe it worked out. All this time..."

I hugged him. "I know. It must have been a nightmare for you, Midget."

He swallowed. "Imagining what he was doing to you, and you being trapped..."

"You know it was never like that, right?" I pressed.

Jake nodded. "Now, yeah."

"Not that it wasn't kind of weird, in the beginning," I admitted. "Him being in my head, I mean. It was a lot to adjust to. I think it would have been worse if I hadn't been in control nearly all of the time. He didn't search my thoughts, which helped. But, you know, it was still..."

"A lot?" Jake asked me, quietly.

"Invasive," I admitted. "Even if he couldn't prevent himself from reading my thoughts. Not while he was there. I mean, I knew that, and I knew that he wasn't judging me or anything, but it was a lot to take in. I found out that if you try to adjust and have a decent Yeerk, it's about a month before everything feels more or less normal." I shrugged. "I think it was about two, maybe three, weeks for me. I'm above average, don't you know?" I added, teasingly.

"I can't...I mean, even if it was someone I trusted, like Marco or you..." Jake stopped talking, then shrugged. "He sees everything, Tom."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, Jake," I murmured, keeping my voice gentle. "Terlin knows me better than I know myself, probably. And he likes me. He cares about me. Besides, Yeerks don't really see stuff the way that humans do. Even if Marco or I would be tempted to judge you, or something that you did, that kind of thing...Yeerks know about social norms and all, but they're not living their lives based on them. What I thought of as embarrassing or a mistake, Terlin can see it more objectively. Sort of like a therapist inside your head."

Jake gave me a sardonic look. "You think you'll need one when this is all over?"

I squeezed his shoulder. "More because I'm seeing you fight a war firsthand than anything I've experienced."

"It's...rough," Jake admitted, his voice cracking, just a little.

I nodded, sympathetically. "I bet. Fighting is one thing, but being a leader? Making those life or death decisions? Without any adult or anything to help you out? No wonder you get nightmares."

"You help, Tom. A lot. These last few weeks...I feel like I can handle almost anything the visser throws at us."

I gave him a nudge. "Hey, now. Don't go tempting fate like that." As Jake's laugh, I added, "I'm glad, though. That I can help you out. You know my door's always open, whenever you want to talk."

"I know. Thanks, Tom."

"I know what you're thinking. Like we don't see enough of each other," I teased.

He shrugged. "I feel like it's only a matter of time before Mom and Dad realize we're sleeping together-next to each other-practically every night."

The thought had crossed my mind. "Do you want to go back to our old bedrooms?"

"No!" Jake answered, practically before I finished the question.

"Hey, relax, Midget." I put an arm around his shoulder. "I was just asking."

"Sorry."

I held him tighter. "No problem."

"It's easier, now. When I have a nightmare, and you're there," he explained, his voice low. "Going back to before..."

I could easily imagine.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jake," I promised. "Look, if Mom or Dad ask..."

He shrugged. "Think they will?"

I wasn't sure.

"I don't know. I could talk to Terlin about it, see what he thinks," I offered.

Jake nodded. "Has he said anything about it?"

I looked Jake in the eye. "We're mostly concerned about you getting enough sleep and helping you deal with your nightmares, since you're going to get them regardless. He cares about you, because I do."

Another nod.

I noticed, then, how dark it was getting. "Speaking of which, we should head back before Mom calls the cops to track us down. Gonna be a long drive tomorrow, and you know how Dad gets when he hasn't had enough sleep."

"There can only be one Mr. Crankypants in this family," Jake teased.

"You've outgrown that nickname. Kind of," I teased back. "Now, you're Mr. Mature Adult."

Jake groaned.

"Mr. 'Get Off My Planet'?" I offered, as we began to walk.

"Maybe," he allowed, with a laugh.

"Don't worry," I promised, putting an arm around Jake's shoulder, "I'll come up with something even better than 'Midget'."

"You don't have to stop calling me 'Midget', Tom."

"I won't," I reassured him, with a laugh.

Mom and Dad and Grandma were in the kitchen when we arrived, but they didn't look too worried when they saw us. Grandma was putting away food in the refrigerator, and Mom and Dad were looking over the driving instructions for the way back.

"Have a nice walk, kids?" Grandma asked, her face hidden by the door.

"Yeah, it was fun," I answered, and Jake nodded.

Our parents smiled at us.

"That's good. We'll be getting an early start tomorrow, so you should start getting ready for bed," Dad suggested.

"Anything we need to do tomorrow before we leave?" Jake asked.

"Just remember those medals I gave you," Grandma answered, turning back from the refrigerator. "I know my father would want you to have them."

"They're already in my suitcase," Jake reassured her.

"Good. The best thing you can do is get a good night's sleep," Mom smiled. "We'll be turning in once we look these over once more."

"Are you going to drive?" I asked.

"I'll do the first half, at least," Dad told me, looking up from the maps. "Your mom might take over after we've stopped for lunch."

I nodded, and saw Jake do the same.

We gave our parents and Grandma hugs, and then headed upstairs to get changed and, finally, to go to bed.

That night, I had a dream that Terlin and Cassie had been captured by Visser Three, and both were being tortured. He used this device called a Varynx to expel Terlin from Cassie, and she was screaming in agony.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up in a cold sweat and realized that Jake was shaking me.

"Tom?" he asked, sounding panicked. "What's wrong?"

I took several deep breaths before responding. Wishing that Terlin was there, even though I knew that he was probably safe, and he'd be back in my head in a matter of hours.

Using my memory and the dim amount of light that came in from the windows, I managed to turn on the light on the table.

Jake looked pale, but I probably didn't look much better.

"It was...just a nightmare, Midget." I forced a laugh, but it sounded fake. "Really. Nothing to worry about."

My voice was a little hoarse. How long had I been yelling in my sleep?

More importantly, how loud had I been?

I was hardly a stranger to nightmares, even though I knew from firsthand experience that Jake suffered through them way more than I did. He also didn't have the benefit of a Yeerk friend who could take over the functions of his body and reassure him that everything was okay. That was how Terlin and I had always done it. Otherwise, I'd wake up everyone in the house.

"Was I loud?" I asked, softly.

Jake shrugged, then nodded. Immediately, he pulled me into a hug, the way I did when he woke up from a nightmare.

I squeezed back, hard. Needing the comfort.

"Thanks, Midget," I mumbled.

Jake hugged me tighter. "You're always there when I have nightmares."

That was true. He'd always wake up terrified, breathing hard, especially when he saw me. In those few seconds, I was the enemy. Then, he'd relax, let me hold him, reassure him. Remind him that I'd always be there for him, that I was on his side. After several minutes of hugging, I'd ask Jake to let me rub his back until he fell asleep. Sometimes, he would say yes without protesting. I knew those nightmares were especially bad, then. Other times, he'd make half-hearted protests, like how it was already the third time this week. I'd retort that nightmares didn't count, or I wasn't keeping track, and he'd sigh like I was forcing a noogie on him or something, and agree. He'd always be out in ten minutes, tops. So, really, it didn't "count".

I laughed, letting go of the hug. My arms were starting to hurt. "Yeah, I guess I'm not a horrible big brother."

Jake smiled, putting an arm around me. I felt myself relax against him. "I've heard there have been worse."

"That's the rumor," I chuckled.

Jake put his other arm around me, and I lay in a half sitting, half lying down position for a little. It would probably hurt when I woke up again, but I was too comfortable to care. I felt, if not safe, then safer. Except for the image of Terlin being suctioned out of my head...well, still very much in my head.

"Tom?" Jake asked, after a few minutes.

"Mmm?" I replied, noncommittally.

"I can help you," he offered, letting go, looking me in the eyes. "I mean, if you want...you can tell me about the dream."

Yeah, this was a total role reversal. Terlin wasn't there, but Jake was. He wanted to help.

Even if, probably, he still only saw Terlin as an ally, not a friend. Our friendship was probably still incredibly weird to him.

He was trying, though. Anyway, they'd had a mission to rescue Aftran. They didn't hate all Yeerks.

Telling Jake would be admitting how close Terlin and I were. Had become, anyway. Except, maybe he already knew?

It wasn't really a secret.

I managed a nod, and looked over at my kid brother. He definitely looked older than fourteen. Well, if you asked him, he'd say he was nearly fifteen.

Right. Still four months to go, Midget.

I made myself recount the dream. "Visser Three captured Cassie and...sort of suctioned Terlin from her head. Murdered him."

Jake squeezed my arm. "Tom," he murmured, "we'd know if anything had happened to her."

"Yeah. I know." I managed a half smile. "I know. I can't imagine it happening in real life, but in my dream..."

Jake put an arm around my shoulder. "They feel so real."

Was he thinking about his tiger dream?

I just nodded, then swallowed hard.

"Are-are you sure that she's safe?" I asked.

Jake hugged me, again. "I'm sure, Tom. We've covered our bases, and, besides, it's only a couple of feedings."

"Right. I know," I nodded. Aiming for a joke, I added, "They're called nightmares for a reason."

"No kidding." Jake sighed. "But...it helps to talk about them, right?"

"It really does," I answered, meaning it. "Thanks, Midget."

Jake wrapped his arms around me, and I squeezed back.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, letting go around the same time. I lay back down on my side, my back against the wall.

"Tom?" Jake asked, his voice tentative.

I looked up at him quizzically. "Midget?"

"I was thinking. I could rub your back, if you want. Until you fall asleep," Jake offered, tentatively. "I mean, it's what you do whenever I get a nightmare..."

He trailed off.

I was about to say no, that I didn't need it, when a small voice in my head told me not to reject Jake's offer.

Terlin's voice. Even though he wasn't there.

"Yeah, I guess that is only fair, Midget," I teased. "Not that you have to, but, sure. Want to switch places?"

He nodded, and I shifted so that I was near the edge of the bed, but on my stomach, my head resting on my hands. Seconds later, I felt Jake's hands on my shoulders. His hands were stronger than I expected, but it didn't hurt. It felt really good, actually. I could feel my muscles begin to relax, the tension leaving my body. I exhaled, slowly, then let my eyes close. Letting myself relax, and sort of lose myself to the whole experience.

Terlin was safe. He was with Cassie. Everything was okay. I'd be back with him in less than twelve hours. In the meantime, Jake and I had rare one-on-one time together, and we probably needed more of this.

I closed my eyes, letting my thoughts wander. Aware of how much I was beginning to relax.

It was kind of funny, really. For all the times I'd half-heartedly complained to Jake about all the tension he was keeping inside him, resulting in near constant tension in his back, I realized that I wasn't exactly one to talk.

"You okay?" Jake asked, after a few minutes.

"Mm hmm," I managed, through a sleepy haze, forcing my eyes open. "Thanks, Midget."

I closed my eyes again.

The next thing I knew, it was morning.

As soon as we sat up, I pulled Jake into a huge hug.

"Thank you," I told him, simply.

He squeezed back. "No problem. You know, Tom, I'm there, too. I mean, if you want to talk about anything."

Up until yesterday, my go to person had been Terlin. Jake had been the younger brother I had to protect.

Maybe, though, it would go both ways. Jake was leading an army, after all. I could probably go to him if I needed help.

Maybe. He was still my kid brother, and it was my job to lessen his load.

"Thanks, kiddo," I answered, simply. "Come on. We better hurry if we want to make breakfast."

Jake gave me a mock horrified expression. "You think they'd eat everything without us?"

"I'd rather not find out," I retorted, tousling his hair.

There was, of course, plenty of food left.

Not that I had been overly worried. My parents didn't make it a habit of starving us.

Anyway, after stuffing our faces and giving Grandma some last minute hugs-she'd be staying on for a few weeks with some other relatives, getting the place ready to either sell or rent out-we hauled our luggage into the trunk of the car and began the long drive home.

It was a little before 8 when we left, and since the drive would take around eight hours, and we'd probably stop for food and to stretch our legs for a half hour, I expected it to be around 4:30 by the time we got back.

Well, at least Jake and I would not be spending the evening doing homework.

For some reason, Mom always slept better when she was in the back, so I was up front with Dad this time. Looking at the review mirror, I saw that Jake had his eyes closed, and if Dad wasn't using me as a backup for directions, I'd be tempted to do the same. Well, maybe Jake and I could trade places after stopping for lunch.

I'd never been one who could read in the car without feeling sick, and I hadn't brought any books with me, so I mostly looked out the window while I kept the map handy. Times like this were when I appreciated having Terlin in my head. He was someone to talk to, of course, but he could also take over the handling of my body, and I could zone out or sleep without anyone being any the wiser.

Jake was snoring, lightly, when we finally stopped for lunch. I opened the car door in the back and gently shook him on the shoulder. His eyes opened and his head shifted to an upright position.

"Time for lunch," I explained. "'Sides, Midget, you were snoring."

"I was not!" Jake protested, face reddening.

"You kind of were, honey," Mom put in, stretching and removing her seatbelt.

"It wasn't super loud, but you were snoring," I clarified. "Might want to have that looked at when you go to the doctor's next."

Jake sent me a mock offended look and an eye roll, but didn't actually say anything else.

Once he was out of the car, I slung my arm around him, and he didn't protest. Not even a feigned long suffering sigh. We walked to the McDonalds like that.

Mom, of course, complained about the amount of saturated fat we were putting into our bodies. You'd think that Dad would be the one to point this out, being the doctor in the family, but he liked salt and fat and grease and sugar-all that good stuff-as much as the rest of us.

"They're growing boys, Jean," Dad laughed, just before taking a bite of his Big Mac. "Anyway, it's a fact that you need a certain amount of saturated fat in your body."

"It's not like we eat like this every day," I added, taking a much larger bite of my burger.

Well, they didn't. Terlin and I stopped at McDonalds, usually after he fed, at least twice a week. Not that my parents needed to know that.

Sensing defeat, my mom just rolled her eyes and ate her meal-which was just as fatty as the rest of ours-without further comment.

Mom and Dad did switch the driving role after we finished, and I asked if I could be in the back with Jake.

"That's fine, honey," Mom agreed. Studying me, she added, "You look a little tired. Did you sleep well?"

I shrugged, not wanting to bring up the fact that I'd had a nightmare, because that would raise other questions.

"You know. Long weekend," I answered, instead.

Dad looked at us sympathetically. "And you'll be back in school tomorrow. You kids were great, though. Everyone said how responsible and mature you were."

I wasn't sure how responsibility fit into the equation, unless they were thinking that suburban kids like us made it a habit to sneak out during a wake or arrive drunk.

Or, even, not at all.

I gave Jake a nudge. "Hear that, Midget? We're responsible kids."

He grinned. "Who would have thought?"

In a stage whisper, I added, "Guess they don't know about that wild party you threw last weekend."

Jake promptly retaliated by throwing a French fry at me. Of course, the joke was on him, because I caught it easily, and he was down a French fry.

Our parents exchanged looks with each other that could probably best be described as "Can you believe this?"

Then again, if they'd noticed how Jake had been acting towards me up until the last month or so, this had to be a relief.

As I had expected, we arrived home a little before 4:30. Once we got our luggage moved into the house, I casually asked Dad if I could drive Jake to Cassie's.

"Sure, but call if you're going to be home past curfew," he answered.

"I doubt we'll be that late," I replied, with a shrug.

We called her first, of course, just in case there'd been any hiccups along the way. I didn't think the events in my nightmare were any indicator that this happen, but better safe than sorry, and all of that.

Jake made the phone call, and I listened in on the other line.

"Hello?"

Cassie's Mom.

"Hi, it's Jake. Is Cassie there?"

"Oh, hi, Jake! You're back from the funeral? I'm so sorry to hear about your great grandfather, honey."

"Thanks. Mom thinks he didn't feel any pain, and he was pretty old, so...anyway, um, is Cassie there?"

"Just a minute...Cassie?"

A few seconds later, Cassie came on the line.

"Hey, Cassie, it's Jake. And Tom," Jake relayed.

"Hi," she answered, pleasantly. "Did you want to come over to start the project?"

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "I was wondering if now would be okay?"

"Sure. Now's great," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "See you soon."

I gave Midget the thumb's up, and we took Dad's car over to Cassie's barn.

"I know that Terlin's safe and all, but I'll be happy to see it firsthand," I admitted.

Jake nodded, gave me a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he's fine, Tom."

I grinned back, but I was still a little nervous, and was relieved when we arrived at Cassie's barn.

Erek was there, and Terlin was swimming around in a container of water.

I raised my eyebrows just a little at this.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hi, Cassie," Jake added, grinning at her, like a typical teenage boy with a crush on a cute girl.

Aww.

Cassie smiled back at us. "Hi." Glancing at the water, and Erek, she added, "We thought it would be best if he returned having just fed."

That made sense, and I could feel the knots in my stomach loosen.

"That's great. Thanks, Cassie. Everything go okay?"

She nodded at me, still smiling gently. "He was very kind, Tom. Very respectful, too. If this ever happens again, and you need a temporary host, I'm happy to fill in." Then, with a little laugh, she added, "But I'm sort of glad to have my brain back to myself."

I laughed. "Yeah, even the good ones take some getting used to."

She laughed. "They'd probably get more hosts if they allowed them to do it part time, but, that's the empire."

"Yeah. Practicality and kindness has never really been Visser Three's MO," I noted, rolling my eyes. "It's a shame. If most of the Yeerks weren't so gung ho on the empire, or there wasn't an empire, they'd probably end up with more people ready to try it out. You know. Companionship and all that."

Cassie sighed. "And the Peace Movement is still pretty small."

"Right." I shrugged, then turned to Jake. "You okay, Midget?"

Jake nodded, and a glance at him told me that he was relieved-maybe, more than he would have let on-that everything had gone okay.

"He's been feeding since an hour before you called, so he'll be finished in another fifteen minutes or so. Right, Erek?" Cassie asked.

"Twenty-four minutes, to be exact," the android answered, with a smile.

Of all the things to get used to, robot dogs were definitely up there on the list. Especially since they were sort of sentient? Jake had given me the entire story, and even though we humans were in the beginning stages of creating robots, we were light years behind the Chee. Symbiotic slugs were one thing. But doglike robots were something else. It still felt a little creepy, even though they were our allies.

Still, there was plenty of time to adapt to everything, and it wasn't like I saw the Chee every day.

At least, I didn't think I did.

Jake and Cassie made small talk for the next twenty or so minutes, while I hung around like a third wheel. Not that it was too awkward. It was kind of cute, watching the Midget and his girlfriend interact together.

Finally, Erek announced that Terlin was ready to infest me, although he didn't actually use the word "infest". Smiling, I placed my hand in the water and scooped up my Yeerk. Cassie and Jake watched with a mix of fascination and, probably, a little revulsion, as he crawled into my head.

To be honest, I'd never seen myself infested firsthand, since there weren't mirrors at the Yeerk Pool, so it was probably a pretty gross experience.

There was the usual pinprick before Terlin numbed up my ear, and then he crawled inside, making more connections with my brain as he went, but never taking away control.

A minute or so later, I felt him connect with my brain. For the first time in about four days, I felt completely safe, like I was myself again. I'd never thought I was one of those hosts that was dependent on their Yeerk. Well, maybe I was fooling myself. Because, as I felt Terlin in my head again, and his happiness at being back, I felt my own happiness at having him back.

(Hello, Tom,) he greeted, with a mental smile.

(Hey, Terlin,) I answered, with my own grin.

Probably, it was a physical one as well as a mental one, but hey, I wasn't at the Yeerk Pool.

(I...missed you,) I admitted. (Last night...)

He could see the dream. Well, the memory of the dream.

Wordlessly, he wrapped me in a mental hug, and I closed my eyes, taking a moment to savor it. I'd needed this, after all. Maybe, for longer than the past few hours.

(Thank you,) I murmured.

(You're welcome,) he answered, gently.

Once I was ready, Terlin stopped the hug. Well, technically, he sort of slowed it down, or let it fade, or whatever it was that Yeerks did.

Anyway.

Then, it was back to business. Kind of.

(Everything go okay with Cassie?) I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

(Oh, yes, everything went well with her,) Terlin reassured me. Then, (But, Tom, I'm glad to be back in your head.)

I laughed. (You know that the feeling's mutual. Slug-face,) I added, playfully.

Terlin sent me a mental eye roll at his new nickname.

(I did miss you, Tom. I was a little worried about you,) he admitted.

(I was mostly okay. Except for the nightmare yesterday,) I confided.

Terlin gave a mental shudder.

(Yes, that would certainly scare most humans who like their Yeerks,) he agreed.

True enough.

(Well, you're back now,) I allowed.

I didn't want to dwell on that, and Terlin knew, so he let the topic drop.

Jake and Cassie were staring at us, and I had to laugh, because I was sure I looked like a complete idiot, not talking and occasionally grinning like an idiot.

"Sorry, got distracted," I explained, pointing to my head. "Everything's good."

(Tom? Could you give Cassie my thanks?) Terlin asked, almost tentatively.

(You bet.)

"Oh, and Terlin says thank you, Cassie," I added.

Cassie smiled, shrugging a little. "It wasn't a big deal, but you're welcome."

I turned back to Jake, who definitely looked relieved. "Ready to head back, Midget? Or, do you two want to catch up?"

They looked at each other, smiled, and shrugged.

"Well, I've got some homework to do, and we're going to eat soon," Cassie told Jake.

"Yeah, I should probably be getting back," Jake agreed.

I half expected them to hug or something, but they just smiled at each other, and we headed out of the barn.

Of course, I took the opportunity to rib Jake about it.

"Midget? No kissing, I get, but not even a hug?" I asked, giving him a nudge.

Jake rolled his eyes at me. "We're not dating."

I rolled my eyes back at him. "Right."

Jake couldn't hide a smile. "I'm serious, Tom. We're friends."

"Suurrrre." I slung an arm around Jake's shoulder. "Whatever you say, Midget."

"I'm ignoring you, now," my brother informed me, but he leaned into me as we walked.

"Okay," I agreed, "I'll quit bugging you. For now."

"For now?" Jake repeated.

"I'm your big brother. It's my job to tease you about your girlfriend, even if you don't think she is," I informed him, wrapping my other arm around him.

Jake gave me a long suffering sigh, but leaned in against me. We stayed like that for the whole ten seconds it took to reach the car. Then, Jake sort of shrugged out of my arms and opened the passenger door.

(Plenty of time for that later,) Terlin reminded me, giving me a mental smile.

I laughed inside my mind. (Oh, you know it.) Then, I added, (Hey. I'm really glad you're glad, Terlin.)

(I'm happy to be back, Tom,) answered, still smiling.

Noticing that I was standing at the side of the door for longer than necessary, Jake leaned in to the driver's side.

I opened the door. "Sorry. Have to get readjusted after having him not in my head. You know, the whole mental conversation thing," I explained, very coherently.

Jake laughed. "If I didn't know you, I'd think you looked weird."

"Why'd you be taking a ride from your girlfriend's with someone you don't know?" I retorted, grinning.

"To-om," Jake groaned.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I buckled my seatbelt, then started the car. "Good thing we're on the same side, huh?" I asked, pointing to my head. "I mean, if Terlin hadn't been part of the Peace Movement, or we hadn't teamed up...it could have been pretty bad."

Jake groaned. "Tom, enough bad things can happen without worrying about anything potentially bad if we weren't on the same side."

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Right. Fair enough."

We drove home in companionable silence. Terlin and I were pretty quiet, too. I could tell that he wanted to go through the memories of the last few days, but neither one of us wanted to get hit by a car, and I kind of wanted to stay in control.

Still, it was nice to have him back.

That night, my family ate some of the leftovers from the funeral. There was enough for a couple of days, which meant that Mom wouldn't have to cook. Unless she wanted to freeze some of the stuff for another time.

Afterwards, we all watched an old science fiction movie on TV. Jake, Terlin, and I shared a bag of microwaved popcorn.

I couldn't stop grinning, at least, in my head. I was so glad to have Terlin back, especially for this. Movie and TV watching was extra fun when you had a decent Yeerk in your head, because even though he normally would react to these types of movies in my mind with his own comments. Like he did now.

As usual, we shared control. He handled feeding me the popcorn.

Once the credits rolled, I glanced at the time on the TV. It was a little earlier than when Jake usually went to bed on a weeknight, but it had been a long few days for both of us.

"Hey, you want to turn in?" I asked, glancing over at him.

Jake was, as usual, leaning against my side, assisted by my arm over his shoulder.

He yawned. "Yeah."

On the stairs, Jake turned to me. "We're staying together tonight?"

"Definitely, if you want to," I assured him.

"I do. I wasn't sure if you and Terlin wanted to catch up," Jake explained, looking at my head for a second or so longer than normal.

(Sweet kid,) I murmured.

(Very,) Terlin agreed.

"We'll do that in Math class tomorrow," I explained, with a grin.

Jake laughed. "Cool."

"Anyway," I added, moving a stray hair away from his face. "Your room, then?"

He nodded. "You want to use the bathroom, first?"

"Sure," I agreed. "See you in a little."

About ten minutes later, I was in a t-shirt and shorts, and Jake was in striped PJs that made him look like he was a couple years younger. We got into bed, Jake taking the side closest to the wall.

"Ahh. It's nice to have enough space to stretch out," I murmured, doing just that.

Jake agreed, following my lead. "I'm kind of surprised neither of us fell out."

"Well, I was holding you in a near death grip the entire time," I laughed.

"Right." Jake grinned.

"I mean," I teased, "everyone knows that the floor is lava."

"Obviously," Jake grinned, placing his head against my shoulder. "Or, maybe, a Yeerk pool."

I gave him a gentle swat on the head.

"Yeah, I'll protect you from those," I promised. "Especially the bad ones."

Jake's face softened, sort of. "At the risk of sounding corny, we'll protect each other."

"Not corny." I ran a hand over his hair. "True. Besides, you know how it is, now. You fight the battles, I provide the insider information. And emotional support."

Jake grinned. "So far, it's been a good system."

"Can't complain," I laughed. "Speaking of support, how about I rub your back for awhile? You haven't had one in over a week. You must be dying from stress. Besides, I owe you from last night."

Jake rolled his eyes-probably at the last comment-but nodded, and settled himself on his stomach.

"You don't owe me, Tom," Jake spoke up.

"Well, you know," I answered, shrugging. "You know, you did a really good job."

"Yeah?" Jake asked, as I started on his shoulders.

"Definitely. I was asleep within minutes," I pointed out.

"Mmm," Jake agreed.

Or, maybe, he was just relaxing as I worked away at the tension. He went quiet, for awhile, except for occasional murmurs and sighs, and the sound of breathing.

Then, Jake spoke up.

"Tom? I could do it more. If you want," Jake suggested, softly.

"Sure," I answered, lightly, moving towards his ribs, careful not to tickle him. "You need them more than I do, but I won't say no."

Jake made a sound between a laugh and a relaxed sigh. "We're not fighting every day. We haven't had a battle since you joined the Peace Movement."

"Cool." I paused, then added, "Hey. Maybe I'm your good luck charm."

"Mmm," Jake mumbled, but whether it was in response to my comment or my hands now massaging the middle of his back, I wasn't sure.

After a moment, Jake spoke up again.

"Hey...you hear anything more about the anti-morphing ray?"

"Nothing, but I promise, you'll be the first one to know. Okay?" I promised, speaking softly. "Look, try not to worry too much. I mean, it could be years before they figure everything out. You know that Visser Three's not going to let them experiment on him."

(He'd kill anyone who would suggest it,) Terlin interjected.

(Well, duh,) I retorted, with a mental eye roll.

"Yeah. Okay," Jake promised, then yawned.

We were quiet for awhile, except for Jake's occasional murmurs and sighs, and once my hands felt like they were about to fall off, and I could see that Jake was practically asleep, I stopped. Then, I pulled the covers over myself and Jake, who immediately curled himself up against me.

I, of course, reciprocated by pulling him into a bear hug.

"Thanks," Jake mumbled, moving his head back so it was against my right shoulder. "Night, Tom."

"Night, Jake," I murmured, suddenly feeling exhausted.

(Sweet dreams, Tom,) came Terlin's voice.

(Thanks. See you in the morning,) I answered, sleepily.

Terlin hugged me almost as tightly as I held Jake, and feeling safe and protected, I soon fell asleep.

My last thoughts, before I felt sleep take over, was how nice-how normal-it was to have Terlin back. I was downright relieved that, at least for now, things were pretty much back to our new happy normal.

Oh, I knew they wouldn't stay like that forever. There would be a lot more battles. A lot more pain, for both of us. Especially since now, I knew, that Jake was one of the "Andalite Bandits" risking his life to fight the empire, to try to free those who were enslaved by the Yeerks. They might be the planet's only chance of freedom.

Still. I also realized how important it was to enjoy those days, even those moments, when they came.

Until we won for good.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work in the "Swap" series definitely took less time than the first one. I suppose that's reasonable to expect when you're covering events from just one book, instead of several. In case you're wondering, I plan to skip over the events of "The Separation", with the exception of possibly referring to it, because it's essentially a Rachel book and I don't think there would be a huge amount changed in this universe. There WILL be a lot changed in "The Illusion", and I hope that readers will like these changes, because they are for the better with Tobias.
> 
> Also, I expect that the next work will cover events past "The Illusion". Having said this, I have only been brainstorming, and Tom has a habit of changing what I plan to write, so we will just have to see where he takes me!
> 
> I hope you'll stay with me on this journey! Thank you, as always, for those who have left kudos and comments. It means a LOT!

**Author's Note:**

> Out of all of the versions of "The Conspiracy" out there, and this being the second version I personally have written, I would say that this is the most optimistic. Tom has a decent Yeerk but hasn't been tortured before receiving said Yeerk, so he and Terlin have a fairly normal good Yeerk/host relationship, instead of Tom being (understandably) dependent on the Yeerk. There's no need to infest or kill Jake's dad. And, of course, it goes without saying that the Yeerk will end up alive after all of that. At the same time, there's plenty to explore, even if this work might not fit a more rigid definition of having a "plot".


End file.
